Negima: Shadows of past and present
by maneyan
Summary: Seven years of travelling will leave a mark and not all travels are great and glorious adventures. That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But if your worst enemy is yourself, will you destroy yourself or will you become almighty?
1. Prologue

As the mighty sun rose above the Welsh forest, chasing away the evening mists and heralding the start of another day a lone figure walked through the forest. He was dressed in a green robe with a hood; the bangs of his unruly crimson red hair fell down across his forehead stopping just above his dark brown eyes, eyes that currently rested upon the horizon.

Beyond the next hill lay a village; a village where his family had lived for generations. He had been away for so long now. What would people say he wondered? Would he be welcomed with open arms as the proverbial lost son or would they look upon him with distrust? God knows that he would not be surprised if it was the latter. God knows that he probably deserved it. How much hadn't he made them go through since he left? How much hadn't they worried when hearing about his exploits? All these years he had journeyed across the world and not even once he had visited them. A mere child when he left, the man wondered if they would even recognise him.

"You aren't starting to brood again are you"? A small voice suddenly said from his hood.

"It has been a long time since I left home." The man answered. "Too long."

"And you are afraid that they won't be happy to see you, is that it?"

"Remember the old man?" the man replied, "People like me are that worst kind of people he knows. How many secretly shares that opinion? How many will see me like nothing more than a loose cannon?"

"Easy brother, everyone loves a hero."

"I'm not a hero."

"You are too hard on yourself big bro, you can't say that you haven't done the best you could in everything."

"True."

"And if anyone would start harassing you big sis would probably knock them upside down."

The man fell silent.

"So that's where the problem's at." The voice said softly. "You worry too much big bro, she is a strong girl and she won't have given up."

"How much pain did I cause by leaving in the middle of the night with just a letter to comfort her? She loved me more than her own life and when I abandoned her like that…"

"You didn't abandon her." The voice cut off. "You had no obligations to take care of her. It was she that took care of you, not the other way."

"But still…"

"You are getting silly now big bro. If you continue to be so insistent on the fact that you are a bad person you haven't gotten anywhere from the little cry-baby you once were."

The man smiled

"You are right. "Keep walking forward and regret nothing". Wasn't that what you said once?"

"That's right big bro. Now let's get a move on. If we hurry we might get some of big sis breakfast."

"You never change; do you?"

"Nope."

"Thank you."

-

Very short I know. Prologues are like that


	2. Homecomings

Disclaimer: I don't own Negima, Akamatsu does.

**Chapter 1. Homecomings**

The blonde woman walked towards the kitchen. She had chosen the blue dressing gown today. She only wore it once a year and every day it had been this day. It had been a present from the little boy to which she had been a cousin in blood but a big sister in heart.

She and her father had taken care of him when his father, her uncle, had disappeared and she had devoted everything she could to him. Even though she had studied in a city far away she had written letters to him every week and whenever she had the possibility she had traveled home to see him. During those times she had slept beside him to ensure that he slept well. The poor boy was terrified of darkness. Then seven years ago he had vanished. Only ten years old at the time he had stolen away into the night leaving only a letter behind. Today was the anniversary of that day.

During the years she had developed a ritual, which she followed every time during this day. First she would take on the blue dressing gown, and then walk out to the kitchen and prepare breakfast for both her and him. Then she would take out the letter and read it the old man came over and ate the other portion.

He had been a great aid for her during these years. Initially he had been furious over what he called "tha' Springfield lads an' their idiocy" but when she had broken down after hearing one of his outbursts he had comforted her and never again spoken of the matter. She knew that he even though he still despised them for abandoning their family he kept quiet for her. Despite his gruff exterior he had a heart of gold and would gladly do anything for his fellow villagers.

As she reached the kitchen her hands moved in an almost ritual pattern from the fridge to the table then to the stove. As the different ingredients were fried she put forth the plates and the silverware. Her little cousin had always had a voracious appetite and she had always made a large breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding, mushrooms, baked beans, hash browns and half of a tomato. Like a clockwork. He had always eaten it with fervor.

As she sat down to eat she took out the letter from its resting place on the kitchen shelf. She had always been amazed by how grown up he had sounded in it.

_Dear Uncle and Sister. _

_When you read this I'm far away. I have been forced to this because of things I cannot tell you without endangering you. The reason why I leave is the same reason why I have been so down the last weeks. I'm sorry it had to come to this and if I can I will return home as soon as I can. Don't come looking for me. I know it's hard but I beg you to do as I ask. _

_I love you _

_Negi_

The entire village had been in an uproar when the news got out. The old man had gone into his hut and for three days the small building had been ablaze with magical power as he called upon all forms of divination and farsight he knew. When the magic died down they had found him collapsed in front of a magic mirror. It had taken him a month to recover.

She was brought out of her reverie by a knock on the door. Had the old man already come? Usually he wouldn't come until half an hour later. She got up and walked to the door.

When she opened she felt like her heart would stop. In front of her stood a man in green robe, with unruly red hair and brown eyes. For a second she thought that it was her uncle but she then realized who it was.

"N – Negi." She said, choking on the word.

"Hi Nekane." The young man said with a nervous smile. "I'm back."

The young man didn't have time to say anymore before his cousin threw herself at him and embraced him. Sobbing to much to say anything coherent she desperately clung to him as if she was afraid that he would leave again. Negi wrapped his arms around his cousin and held her.

For several minutes they stood there. Then Nekane looked up at her cousin. She smiled as she pulled him into the house. Negi remembered that Nekane always would recover quickly from surprises and smiled faintly. That was one thing that didn't change during his absence. His smile grew wider when he felt the smell emanating from the kitchen. On the kitchen table were two plates filled with breakfast. Nekane shoved him into one of the chairs.

"Now eat." She said and took out her handkerchief. Wiping away the tears she sat down at the other chair.

"No." Negi got confused. "I couldn't eat someone else's breakfast."

"It's not someone else's I made it for you." Nekane smiled at the young man. Still a gentleman.

"But how did you know that…"

"Don't wine big bro," a voice said from the hood. "Eat." A small head poked out and the owner jumped down at the table. It was a snow white ermine. "Nekane wouldn't lie about this."

"Albert?" Nekane blinked. "You were with him?"

"'Course!" The ermine said with its mouth full of hash brown. "Can't let big bro run around the world alone now can I?"

Negi shrugged and finally picked up the fork. "Chamo was the reason you didn't find me." He stuck the fork into the bacon. "I tried to leave him behind but he blindly refused."

"I see." Nekane said thoughtfully. "Very well let's focus at the breakfast now. You can tell me everything later. "

As they ate Nekane took a good look at her cousin. He had grown so much that it was nearly impossible to believe that he once was the small boy he once were. Once only four feet and had grown to nearly six. He was broad shouldered with a muscular frame. His face had lost its boyish roundness and he looked even more like his father now. Yet again she was returned to reality by a knock on the door. Negi rose but Nakane stopped him with a laugh,

"Don't, you'll give whoever's at the door a heart-attack. She got up and went to the door.

This time she was greeted by the hawkish and bearded face of old man Stan when she opened.

"G'day tah yeh Nekane." He said with a smile. "Ah thought ah'd step by ta' see if yeh wanted some company."

"Come in, come in." Nekane returned the smile. "Though I have to warn you that I haven't got any breakfast for you today."

The wrinkled old man raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Indeed eh," he said. "Well tha' ain't going ta' stop me." He walked into the hallway. And shut the door behind him. "He noticed the gown she was wearing. "Ah'm surprised tha' coat of yer's still holdin'. Twas' ten years ago yeh' got it ain't it'?"

"Negi has a good eye for quality." Nekane said.

Stan's eyebrows went up across his forehead. "Has? Yeh' dinnae mean ta' tell me…" The old man hobbled as into the kitchen as fast as he could. There he saw a sight he never had expected to see.

"Hi old man Stan." Negi smiled nervously.

"Yeh!" He hobbled up to the table and smacked the young man in the head with his walking staff. Hard.

"Yeh stupid lil' BRAT!" He roared. "Have yeh any idea how worried we've been! What were yeh thinkin' runnin' off like tha'! Yer cousin nearly died o' worry fer yeh yeh lil'…"

"I am very well aware of that thank you!" Negi said loudly. "I didn't leave because I wanted to, did you ever consider that?!"

"So then yeh just…"

"Shut up!" Negi rose to his full height. "Stan I am aware of how much the people I left behind have worried for me." He continued with a softer voice. "And I will explain everything later; right now I only want to eat my breakfast. Is that okay with you?"

Stan stood silently and stared at the young man in front of him. Was this the little meek boy who worshipped his father and who instead of playing with the other kids studied in hope of becoming as good as him? This boy, no, this man showed little to nothing of that. This was a man. One who would challenge the legacy left by his father. He sighed deeply and laid his hand on Negi's shoulder.

"I'm happy tha' yer back laddie'" He said with a smile.

"I missed you too Stan." Negi returned the smile.

"Well I don't have a plate for you but perhaps you would like some tea?" Nekane had been silently witnessing the exchange and now spoke up. "I believe I have some scones too."

"Tha' would be great lassie'," Stan sat down at the table and the breakfast continued in silence. When the breakfast was finished Negi leaned back and gave a sigh of contentment.

"I've really missed this Nekane. Your food is the best."

"Is this a good time ta' ask yeh what yeh have been up to?" Stan asked as he stuffed his pipe with tobacco.

"I suppose you deserve to hear the truth." Negi took a deep breath.


	3. Seven Years

**Chapter 2: Seven years.**

"It started with the dreams. Perhaps you remember that I had nightmares the weeks before I disappeared. I dreamed of demons razing this village, every night I saw them butcher everyone I knew. And always in the same manner. Anya was run through by a demon spear when she tried to run away. You," he pointed at Nekane, "were killed by a giant demon that crushed you under its fists. You Stan," he looked at the old man, "were killed by an upper rank demon that petrified you when you tried to save me. Uncle was devoured alive."

"I'll spare you any more accounts of what happened you get the point. Every night I woke up at the same time, three o' clock in the night, screaming. Eventually I decided to stay awake and not go to sleep before three o' clock. But I still dreamed even though I was awake, the images flashed past my eyes but this time one thing was different. I heard a voice. Don't ask me how I know who it was I just knew that it was my father."

"_Run, or they will come. _That was all that he said. I was only ten so the only option I could imagine was running away. I packed my things, wrote that letter and ran. On the outskirts of the village Chamo saw me."

"Yeah I knew at once that there was something weird going on." The ermine said. "Big bro ran like he was chased by a pack of dogs. I decided to follow after him."

"When I saw Chamo I tried to convince him to leave me behind but he blindly refused."

"A life debt can only be repaid with life. I wasn't gonna let big bro run off and get himself killed."

"And in the end I had to let him come along. I didn't have to regret that. Near the English border I was attacked by demons."

"What!" Stan yelled.

"Yes demons. And there were quite a lot of them too. If Chamo hadn't used his powers of misleading and disruption I would have died there. As it were I managed to escape but not without a memento." Negi pointed at his chest. "I have a scar that goes from the right shoulder diagonally to the waist here. For eight months I just ran. It didn't go a week without the demons nearly capturing me. If it hadn't been for Takamichi I would have died there."

"Gateau's kid?" Stan asked.

"The same, he found me and managed to defeat the tracker demons that had been leading the others to me. He was initially going to send me home but I managed to convince him that it was too dangerous. He agreed to help me and took me to Japan where I stayed with another of Dad's old friends. Albreido Imma." Negi took a deep breath and chuckled.

"He was certainly not what I expected. I thought he would be a heroic and brave man like Takamichi."

"He's a perverted scoundrel if I ever met one." Chamo butted in. "Didn't know if I was going to admire him or despise him."

"Anyway; he had been stricken by a strange curse and could only interact with the mundane world for a few days every year. Takamichi reasoned that with him I would be safe for at least a year. During the time I spent in Albreido's sanctum I had time to think, heal and train. I decided to become stronger in order to be able to find my father, the vision I had and the fact that Albreido had formed a pactio with him and could still use the artifact proved that he was alive. Albreido agreed to teach me and even though he might not seem like it he was a good teacher and he taught me a lot of things."

"In only one year I proceeded further on the path on the mage that I had done for the five years I studied here. It was a pretty calm period otherwise. When one year had passed I believed that I was ready to start my search for dad. Albreido tipped me off about a safe house I Kyoto that he had been using. So I journeyed there under the pretence of carrying a letter for the head of the Kansai branch of mages." Negi sighed.

"That turned out to be a real circus. The Kanto and Kansai branches of the Japanese mages hated each other and I got into several fights. Especially with a boy my age named Kotaro. He was a hanyō, a half man half Inugami, that's Japanese for dog spirit. He hated me from the first moment since I, being a western wizard, was a, what was it he said Chamo?"

"Pathetic weakling who hide behind his ministra and let them do the job." Chamo muttered from the hood where he had snuggled down.

"Yes that was it." Negi continued. "He fought me because of principle and after our first fight ended with me managing to hit him with an axe of lightning he got so fascinated by the idea that a western wizard might measure up that he challenged me at every chance he got."

"Yeh dinnae mean to tell me yeh mastered tha' Axe o' Zeus." Stan looked amazed.

"Yes I did, I told you I got far in only a year. Anyway when I found the safe house I found a map. It was over the very place I left. The academy where Takamichi lived. When I was about to leave Kotaro cornered me and told me that he wanted a definite match. I wasn't going to risk dying before I had found dad so I ran. He got furious and swore to track me down.

"When I came back to the academy where Takamichi lived I managed to find the entrance in the library. It was a large complex of tunnels that led to an underground chamber, and the biggest dragon you can imagine."

"A dragon in Japan?" Nekane asked.

"Yes and it was a western dragon too. And it was sitting right at the only exit out of the chambers. Since mid and low level spells don't work on dragons I had only one spell that would work and its incantation was too long for me to be able to use it while running like crazy trying to dodge it's fire. The only reason why I even survived was that Kotaro came out of nowhere and kicked it in the face with enough force to send it reeling. He then grabbed me and ran off with an unimaginable speed. It had taken me an hour to get that far down the chambers and he was out in a few seconds."

"When we came to the surface he started beating me up. He told me that we still had a score to settle and that if I thought that he would let me run off and get myself killed I was wrong. I don't know how it happened but somehow I managed to fire off a five-arrow sagitta magica without both incantation and delay straight into him. He crashed into a wall and I started to scream at him. I told him that I didn't give a damn about his "score" with me and that I only wanted to find my father. He called me a cowardly daddy's boy and then it all pretty much degenerated into a fight.

"We fought for at least three hours and in the end we both lay on the ground nearly unconscious… Then he started laughing. After a while he dragged himself over to me and said. "You got some guts after all, tell you what, I'll help you find your dad, it seems like it could be pretty fun." I wasn't in a position to decline and actually I had pretty fun during that fight, don't know why, so I accepted."

"Now I had run into a pretty big problem though. The only trace of father was blocked by a giant dragon that I would need an army to defeat. I had the training; Albreido taught me much and even gave me a book with thunder and light magic so with a little digging I would be equipped to fight it. But as Kotaro pointed out I had pretty little combat experience. I survived the demons by running away and Kyoto through luck and raw power. Kotaro suggested that I worked with him for a year and then we could give it another shot."

"Worked with him?" Nekane asked.

"Yes, Kotaro was a mercenary, and a quite renowned such. His services were in high demand in the Kansai region."

"A twelve year old child?" Nekane couldn't believe her ears.

"You forget that he was born half spirit big sis." Chamo said, "The Inugami are very powerful beings and he had a natural talent for fighting too."

Anyway with a little illusionary magic I managed to make myself very similar to him and I adopted the name Kaguro. For a year and a half we worked as mercenaries across the world and gained quite a bit of renown as "the wolf brothers". It was during that time I got this," he held up his right hand and showed a gold ring around the middle finger. "It's a spellcaster ring; it allows me to use spells without needing a wand."

"We did a lot of jobs for different groups and persons. Then after a particularly rewarding mission Kotaro decided that we should give the dragon a shot. But when we came down into the chamber it was already dead. Turned to stone."

_Flashback:_

_Suddenly a man comes out from behind the dragon. _

"_Ah, there you are boy," he said, "I've been missing you." He was a man in his mid fifties with a short blonde beard wearing a black trench coat and hat. _

"_D - do I know you?" Negi asked. He realized that it must have been this man who petrified the dragon. _

"_Why I am shocked," the man looked hurt, "I thought you would remember someone like me._

"_Ey Negi," Kotaro asked, "You know this guy?"_

"_I've never seen him before." _

"_I am afraid you just became a liar little boy." The man smirked. "We have met, but perhaps you will remember better if I do this." He took off his hat and suddenly his face transformed; it changed into the face of a demon._

"_Perhaps you remember now Negi," his voice crackled like fire,"Perhaps you remember the face that hounded you all over England three years ago."_

"_You!" Negi felt the fear that had dominated him for nearly a year back then creep up. "Who sent you?" He screamed, "What do you want with me?" _

"_More important here is what do YOU want young mister." The demon put on its hat again and transformed into human again. "You want to find your father, the thousand master, that much is clear. But then what?"_

"_What do you mean?" _

"_I have a soft spot for young boys with potential and seeing as how you are running around challenging ancient beings, like this dragon here, there is quite the risk you'll end up dead. And in all honesty I cannot allow that."_

"_Ey horn-face," Kotaro yelled, "you ain't got no right t' tell 'im what t' do."_

"_Kotaro isn't it?" The demon smiled at him, "I must admit that I became quite excited when you befriended young Negi. You seemed like the perfect teacher for him. _

"_Are you even listening to me?!" _

"_There there young one," The demon turned to Negi again, "I believe you hoped to find some clues as to your father's whereabouts." He took up a book out of his pocket. "Actually he left this journal behind. It reveals quite a lot. Now don't look so terrified, you can have it, on one condition that is."_

"_What condition?" Negi felt a lump in his throat._

"_Defeat me." The demon raised its fists. "Show me how far you have proceeded in these years. Show me if the child of the thousand master is worthy of his legacy."_

_End Flashback._

"So I fought him, but he was so incredibly powerful. I even managed to give him a direct hit with the axe of lightning but he barely noticed it. I had no chance. In the end he threw me into the wall. He said. "I'll wait for you, come to me when you can handle me and I will give you the book." Then he teleported away."

"One year of intense magic studies, eighteen months of working as a mercenary, all of that didn't help me the least. I must admit I nearly gave up at that point. But the following morning Kotaro kicked me it the face yelling, "What's with the dopey look? It's morning, get it together." He then told me that he had heard a rumour about a group of martial artists in the forest below the mountain Fuji, a place called Aokigahara. Apparently they had gone into seclusion there after Japan was modernized in the middle of the nineteenth century and he thought that they might help us. He was so excited about the prospect of fighting a demon-lord that he was jumping up and down. The way he acted made me ashamed of myself. I only saw the problems while he saw challenges. So I did as he said and got it together."

"It was summer when we entered Aokigahara. The first mile of forest was littered with tourist paths and it wasn't especially reminiscent of the "forest of death" that it is called but when we crossed the barriers into the supernatural part of the forest everything went to hell in an instant. It was filled with evil spirits and demons of every kind you can imagine and all of them were extremely violent. We survived only because we went all out. And the weather was everything but summery. It snowed. Even if we made progress the monsters only got tougher and tougher. We spent three months in that hell trying to reach the middle of the forest. Or rather, we spent the first week trying to get in and the rest of the first month trying to get out. But the forest must have been riddled with misdirection spells of the most powerful kind because we never got out of it. So we realized that there was only one way to survive. To reach the middle of the forest."

"Kotaro died there. We had attracted the attention of a large pack of evil spirits that were chasing us. One of those was powerful enough to give both of us a hard time and there were at least fifty of them hunting us.

_Flashback: _

"_Shit, shit, shit this ain't good." Kotaro swore as he heard the monsters getting closer._

"_We got to hide," Negi yelled. _

"_No good, they'll smell us a mile…" Kotaro paused. "Hey can't you hide your scent with magic?"_

"_Yes but only mine, you'll be without protection." _

"_Okay…" _

_Kotaro suddenly gave Negi a kick in the back which paralyzed him, he picked him up and placed him under a large tree root. _

"_Now use that bloody magic," He yelled. "I'll draw them off."_

"_Kotaro no!" Negi stared at the young hanyō. "Don't do it."_

"_Yes I am," He stood up and turned around, "you've got a dad t' find." He looked back. "It was fun traveling with you." He rushed off._

"_NO!" Negi saw how his friend ran in the direction the monsters were approaching from. He gritted his teeth together and started chanting._

"I managed to hide from the demons through Kotaro's sacrifice. Two weeks afterwards I managed to find a door into the mountain. It was locked but when I tried to open it a man jumped down from the trees"

_The man was wearing samurai armour with a pair of swords hanging by his side. His rugged face had a scar over the left eye, which appeared blind. _

"_Turn back spirit," he said simply, "There is nothing for you here."_

"_I'm sorry but I cannot turn back," Negi pulled back his hood._

"_A human?" The mans face betrayed his surprise, "How did you pass the barriers?"_

_Negi bowed. "My name is Negi Springfield, son of Nagi Springfield, the thousand master, I have come because need your help. As for your question; I am a mage."_

"_A maho-tsukai of the west." The man looked intently at him. "What is your business with the Heavens wing school?" _

"_I came here because I heard that your martial prowess was unmatched. I have come to ask you to teach me to fight."_

"_Excuse me?" The man lifted one eyebrow. "A mage that want's to learn the art of fighting? You'll have to excuse me for finding that hard to believe."_

"_I am a combat mage; I use my magic to enhance my martial prowess as much as I use it for spells."_

"_Really…" The man stroked his cheek. "Show me." _

_Negi exploded into motion. Letting the magic rush through him enhancing his physique he leapt straight at the man who pulled out his sword and held it out against him. He crashed into the blade and his body dissipated in a flash of light. The man's eyes widened "_A clone!" _He thought as he spun around and saw Negi coming at him from behind. _

"_Shundo, impressive." He sheathed his blades and dropped into a combat stance. "But you overshot." He unleashed a flurry of punches against the boy who dodged them with incredible speed. _"The boy has guts."_ The samurai thought. _"And he knows to not hesitate." _he noticed orbs of light appearing around the boy. _"A spell"_He realized. _

_Negi summoned five arrows of thunder and punched the man with all his strength. The arrows spun around his hade and made contact with the man at the same time as his fist. The man was thrown backwards into a tree. _

"_Nicely done," The man's voice came from the tree. The Samurai got up from the ground seemingly unaffected. "A pretty interesting technique. Definitely western magic but delivered as a punch. I'm intrigued by you; I will bring your matter before the elders. Wait here. With that the man disappeared._

_End Flashback:_

"Looking back at it now it was probably only because they had never seen magic and martial arts combined that they allowed me entry. The man who had fought me, Katsu Takahashi, said that the council had been near a collective stroke at the news of a combat mage. The only thing they knew of western mages were the traditional image of mages and since they were a school of martial artists they had very little respect for them.

"Now the most hellish period I've ever been through began. The Heaven's Wing was a school who fought to keep the evil spirits in Aokigahara contained. When Japan was opened towards the western world they predicted that Japan would grow and that there would be no place for the dark spirits so they used mighty rituals to draw them to the forest and bind them there. But apparently the ritual needed to be constantly reinforced to contain the demons and thus they had to live there and make sure the barriers were in place. And the demons attacked their fortress at least once every week.

"The only reason I even left was that I mentioned to the masters that there was another group of swordsmen, or rather swordswomen, near Kyoto called the God's Cry school. They had been under the impression that they were the only supernatural sword style left. So once again I had to deliver a letter and, well there were a lot of ceremonies and the God's wind and Heaven's Wing merged. With the help of the Kansai mages they managed to seal the forest properly and I could continue my journeys."

"It was six weeks ago that I managed to track down the demon. He was hiding in Berlin as a Graf, a count, by the name of Wilhelm Josef von Hermann.

_Flashback:_

"_Hello young mister Negi," Wilhelm smiled from his chair as Negi stepped into the room. "My my you have grown. I hardly recognized you when I saw you entering Berlin." _

"_Enough," Negi said. "I am here for my father's journal, will you give it to me of your own free will or do I have to fight you?"_

"_I repeat the question I gave you the last time we met. When you find him, what will you do?" _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_What do you hope to achieve? He has been gone for ten years. You don't think that he did it for a reason? That he went into hiding to protect those that he cared about?"_

"_I-I'm sure he had a good reason for what he did," Negi said silently, "But I still want to find him!" He finished._

"_And if you in the process unleash something that you cannot control?" _

"_Then I'll become stronger and learn how to control it!" _

"_You are an amazing boy, no scratch that, you are an amazing man, I'm sure Nagi would be proud of you." Wilhelm reached into his pocket and pulled out the journal. "Take it, I'll eagerly wait to see where you go from now."_

_Negi stared at the demon. _

"_Why?" Negi said calmly. "Why have you done all this? You chased me throughout England but you didn't kill me. You interfered with my search for dad only to yield when I come after you. Why?"_

"_I believe I told you I had a soft spot for boys with potential."_

_Negi shook his head "That's not it. A Demon Lord does not interfere with the mortal world merely because he likes boys with potential."_

"_Because?" _

"_Because someone like you cannot cross the barriers between the worlds without breaking the supernatural laws that bind you. Someone bound you and forced you to do it."_

"_Good good." Wilhelm motioned for him to continue. _

"_Someone had power enough to bind you to his or her service, and I only know of one mage that powerful. You are in my father's service."_

"_How long ago was it that you reached that conclusion?"_

"_About two minutes."_

_Wilhelm threw his head backwards and laughed. "Brilliant young sir. You are just as perceptive as him it seems."_

"_Now tell me something. Was it father's idea that you would chase me around England?"_

"_Actually, no." Wilhelm said. "He only ordered me to make sure that you were strong enough to survive the perils being his son will place you in. I was free to act in whatever way I saw fit."_

"_So now what?" Negi asked. "What will happen now?" _

_The smile died away from the demons lips and he held out a black card. "This is my card of servitude; it binds me to your father's service. His final order was that I would give the card to you and offer you my services." He stood up and kneeled. "I, Wilhelm Josef von Hermann, demon lord of the second circle offer you my services."_

_End flashback:_

Negi sat silently and stared out through the window. "It is really curious how things can turn out isn't it? I was certain that he was out to kill me and in the service of my father's enemies." He sighed.

"So what did yeh do?" Stan asked "Did yeh accept?"

Negi pulled out a black card. "After reading the journal I had no choice."

"What did it say?" Nekane asked.

"A lot, my father's confidence had finally gotten the best of him. He had challenged one of the nine Demon Kings. Malfeas the Ravager, the most evil of them all. The reason the word demon is so intimately connected with evil is his schemes. Apparently father met a little girl with the power to summon demons. The girl in question had been tricked by Malfeas into making a demonic contract that would make her immune to magic. In return she lost her summoning ability and would die on her sixteenth birthday. That contract was signed nearly nine years ago when she was five years old. Father traveled the world for years trying to find an artifact known as the Silver Star, an item of incredible power, much stronger than even the Star Crystal, which might be able to challenge the Demon Kings."

Negi leaned back. "I'm still searching for him, Wilhelm told me that the last time he saw the Thousand Master was eight years ago when he entered a gateway to the nether realms. I came here because I need access to the academy's copies of Merlin's writings. I need to find a way to undo the pact; she is the only clue I have now."

"So yer travels ain't over yet." Stan said quietly.

"No, not until I have found him and rescued the girl."

Nekane looked at her cousin. "You really are your father's son." She smiled. "I'm sure he would be proud of you. I know I am."

Negi returned the smile. "It means much to hear that. I've been dreading this day fearing that you would despise me for leaving like I did."

"Yeh be a fool like yer da'," Stan said sternly, then his face softened, "But ah suppose we should be grateful there be fool like yeh."

They sat in silence for a while. It was near lunchtime now. Chamo suddenly stuck his head out from the hood. "But now you know what we've been doing, tell us how life has been here." The ermine said. "Perhaps we could take that over lunch?" Nekane laughed as she ruffled the ermine's coat. "I've missed you, you little rascal."


	4. We forgive you

Disclaimer: I don't own Negima. Akamatsu does.

**Chapter 3: We forgive you **

Negi walked through the village. Every alley and every street was filled with memories. There was the street where Anya had given him her wand and told him to train. There was the inn where one of the old men had let him taste his mead when Nekane was using the bathroom. There was the town square where the statue of the sorceress and the knight stood. He walked through the town as if in trance reliving the memories. Suddenly he collided with another person and sent the other to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you are going!" It was a young woman, apparently in her late teens.

Negi stared; it was Anya, his oldest friend. He hurriedly offered his hand to her.

"I'm terribly sorry, I was lost in thought."

"About what; how to get out of this dump?" She smiled wryly as she pulled herself up.

"Dump?" Negi raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, dump. You new here?"

"I've lived here in the past." Negi admitted. "I only recently returned."

"Why?" She looked at him as if he was insane. "Everyone wants to get out of here except for the old guys who can't imagine living anywhere else."

"You really think it is so bad? It's calm and peaceful. That kind of stuff can be hard to find. "

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Anya shrugged, "I prefer excitement. As soon as I can I'm outta here, my best friend left a long time ago and I'm not going to sit around here while he's out there."

"Who would that be?" Negi already knew.

"Negi Springfield, he's the son of the Thousand Master. He left this hole seven years ago and

I want to find him. That's the second reason I'm going to leave."

"Sorry to rob you of that reason but you won't find him." Negi smiled.

Anya turned to him.

"What, how do you know that? Do you know where he is?"

Negi had an urge to keep the façade but he just didn't have the heart.

"He is standing in front of you." he said with a grin.

Anya's face was a perfect image of surprise. "N-Negi…" she whispered.

"Yes."

Suddenly Anya tried to slap him as hard as she could but Negi's hand shot up instinctively and blocked it. Anya stood still trembling with fury for a second and then she punched him in the face. "You big jerk!" She yelled. "What was the big idea acting like you didn't know me?!"

"Hey it was you who didn't recognize me." Negi countered,"You say you want to find me but you don't even remember my face."

"But – I – you." She sputtered. Negi raised a hand

"Enough." He said simply, "How about I apologize and we forget the whole thing?"

"Nope, won't do:" Anya said with a smirk, "you'll have to buy me dinner first." she dragged him off to the inn.

"Good afternoon Anya, how are things with you today." The innkeeper shouted when they entered.

"Better than ever," Anya fired of a dazzling smile, "Look who I found," she said as she pushed Negi into the middle of the room. "The lost son is home again."

For a few seconds everything was dead quiet, and then the room exploded with voices.

"Oh my god!", "It's really him," "Welcome home!" Negi was mobbed by the villagers who were ecstatic over his return.

"Open the larders," one of the old men shouted, "This call for a celebration."

"And get Stan and Nekane." Another shouted. "They gotta know."

The room descended into complete chaos as everyone ran back and forth. Within five minutes the main room had been decorated, the tables pushed together and an incredible amount of food placed on them. The entire village had been pulled into the room which was stretched out magically to accommodate them and instruments of every kind taken out.

"To tha' next Thousand Master!" Stan held up his mug proposing a toast. "May life nae get boring with 'im around!" The village roared its approval. The band started playing a wild song and dancing erupted throughout the room. Anya grabbed Negi's arm and pulled him out on the floor. "Dance with me." She ordered.

"As you command." Negi smiled as they whirled around in the dance. Negi noticed quite a few of the other girls looking at him. He smiled inwardly as he realized that he hardly would get away with just one dance. The celebration went on for several hours and Negi hardly got five consecutive minutes of rest before he was pulled out on the floor again. He silently thanked his lucky star for the spell he had developed to enhance his physique. Cantus Bellax, war chant, he called it; if Kotaro would find out that he was using the spell for dancing he would explode. Negi felt his spirit sink as he remembered his dead friend but he pushed away the memories and focused on having a good time. When night had fallen the villagers pushed him up on the bar. "Give us a speech laddie." Stan shouted. Negi cleared his throat.

"Everyone," he shouted, the noise died down everyone focused on him, "Thank you, when I came back to this village after being gone for seven years I asked myself if I would be welcomed with open arms or if you would despise me for running away and worrying you all." Singular cries of "no" were heard amongst the crowd. Negi continued. "If I would tell you everything I've been doing these last years we would be up until dawn and because it's Wednesday and you have jobs to go to tomorrow we simply have to skip that." Scattered laughers were heard.

"And at the same time I have to tell you that I'm not done yet. My travels are not finished; there are things I must deal with before I can come back home. My visit here is only temporary. Sorry but you'll have to wait for me a little more." Suddenly he was hit in the head by a staff. Stan had climbed up on the bar and smacked him.

"Dinnae yeh learned how ta' listen ta' people in yer travels?" He grinned, the mug in his hand obviously having been emptied many times. "Yer tha' next Thousand Master, we could nae keep yeh 'ere if we chained yeh to tha' ground. Yeh were meant ta' travel. Keep on traveling laddie, we dinnae expect anything else." The crowd roared its approval. "Now let's dig in!" He yelled, "Ah'm hungry like a wolf" The old man staggered and fell of the bar but was safely caught by the bartender.

"Perhaps you have had too much to drink sir." The bartender said.

"Nonsense Peter;" Stan got up and hobbled over to the table where the villagers were digging in on the food.

"Hey Negi, let's go outside, Anya said as Negi climbed down from the counter. "It's getting stuffy in here."

When they got out the Welsh evening air washed over them. Anya walked over to one of the benches near the fountain and sat down. Negi sat down beside her. They sat silently for a short while then Anya spoke up. "When are you leaving?"

"I don't know," Negi replied honestly, "I need to do some research at the academy; I don't know how long it will take but when I'm done there I'm off."

"Let me come along." The young girl said suddenly. Negi sighed.

"I'm sorry, but no."

"Negi please," Anya looked at him. "I'll go crazy if I stay here any longer. And you don't have to worry about me being a burden. I've trained, I graduated on top of my class and I know how to keep my cool in battle."

"Anya. I don't doubt you are skilled, you have always been sharp. And I know that you are brave too. But what I'm facing now is too dangerous for you. And I don't say that because I believe that you are weak but because I'm facing something that's so incredibly powerful that it alone could wipe out this village in an instant." Negi looked sternly at her.

"So what makes you think that you can challenge it?!" Anya raised her voice. "Unless you have forgotten I learned how to use magic before you. Have you become so stuck up that you refuse my aid without knowing anything about my talents?!"

"If you are so confident in your talents, let's duel." Negi realized trying to convince her was futile, he would have to duel her and show her. "If you manage to pierce my barrier I'll let you come with me."

"Deal."

They walked to the outskirts of town to the field that was used for duels and walked up to the marked spots where protective magic would ensure that even if the barriers were pierced they would not be hit.

"Classic rules?" Negi asked

"Yeah," Anya said.

"Negi took out a coin from one of his pockets and flipped it into the air. "Heads or tails?"

"Heads."

The coin spun through the air and landed, it was a tails.

Negi raised one arm and began to chant. "Rastel Mascir Magister, sagitta magica, series lucis forty-nine arrows, three volleys:" A swarm of dazzling white arrows spawned around him and rushed towards Anya who strengthened her barrier. They collided with her magic shield in a blinding flash. The barrier held and Anya began to chant but then she saw another wave of missiles approaching her. She dropped the spell and tried to raise the barrier again but the arrows hit her before she could focus. The barrier was nearly destroyed and Anya was thrown to the ground. Then she saw a third wave approaching. She tried to leap away from the missiles but she didn't have the speed to do that and the arrows tore her barrier to shreds.

"I win," Negi said.

Anya got up slowly from the ground, her face an unreadable mask. Negi noticed she was trembling slightly. Suddenly she ran off towards the forest.

"Anya!" Negi ran after her.

Anya ran as fast as she could through the forest but a root caught her leg and she fell. Negi reached her and grabbed her.

"Let me go!" she yelled.

"Damn it Anya stop it." Negi suddenly saw he face, she was crying.

"Don't look at me!" Anya sobbed as she tried to turn away.

Negi leaned down and embraced her. Anya struggled first but after a while she returned the embrace. They stayed in that position for a while. It was Anya who broke silence.

"Take care of yourself okay?"

"I will."

"God I feel like crap," Anya sniffled, "I'm sorry for overreacting like that Negi. It's just that you disappeared so suddenly and there was nothing I could do to help you. I always heard about how your father had left you and you had to live alone in your uncle's guesthouse. I wanted to help you, to see you smile. And then you vanished, I felt like I had failed. And now there is nothing I can do to help you."

"Did I say that?" Negi looked at her with a smile. "No, I didn't, you can't follow me but if you want to help me there are a lot of things you can do. Help me search through the libraries. Stan said you worked there. I was actually going to ask you that." He pulled her up, allowed her to sit down on the root and hunched beside her. "Let me ask properly; will you help me with my research Anya?"

"I will, what do you need?" Anya had regained her composure.

"The writings of Merlin. Specifically his writings on magic oaths and contracts and how to break them."

"That'll be tough." Anya spoke in a businesslike ton. "They are in the restricted part of the library and you'll need special permission to take a look at those. The only one I could imagine would allow you access is the Magus."

"Then it looks like I have to seek him out." Negi rose and offered his hand to Anya. "Want to go back to the party now?"

"Okay." Anya took his hand and they walked together back to the village.

Sun had risen again and Negi awoke as the first rays of light hit the village. He got out of bed and dressed himself. He walked outside into the cool mists that still rolled along the streets. His steps took him into Nekane's garden. It was filled with life of all kinds. Flowers, fruit trees and bushes filled the fenced-in garden. Negi took a deep breath and started moving in elaborate patterns. His body gradually lost its stiffness and he moved on to the next stage, his body sped up and his movements became swifter and more powerful.

As Nekane walked out towards the kitchen she passed the windows, she noticed that there were someone out in the garden. When she looked outside she saw Negi, her first thought was that he was dancing. Then she saw the strikes and kicks he threw against the air. Some kind of shadow boxing perhaps? She stood in the window and saw him moving faster and faster until he was a blur of motion. He suddenly stopped and exhaled. Nekane looked at her cousin with awe, so smooth and graceful! He looked like an acrobat. Negi was startled when he suddenly saw his cousin in the window. He smiled sheepishly as he hurried inside.

"Good morning sis," he said when he entered.

"That was amazing Negi," Nekane looked at him with pride in her eyes. "Where did you learn that?"

"Seven years on the road," He shrugged, "I learned a little bit of everything."

As they ate breakfast Nekane asked Negi the question she had been asking herself.

"You are determined to go through with your plan aren't you?"

Negi stopped eating and looked at her.

"Yes, I'm sorry but I'm not done yet. I have to save that girl. I can't sit here knowing that she will die and suffer in Malfeas' realm unless I do something. I have to do something. Power means responsibility as the saying goes."

Nekane nodded. "That's what I expected; I just wanted to hear your reason." She smiled. "And know this; you will always have a home here."

"Thank you."


	5. Deceit and Honesty

**Chapter 5: Deceit and Honesty**

Negi finished his tale, leaned back on his chair and looked at the old man who was sitting behind his desk.

"It's quite a tale you told me young boy," the Magus mused as he stroked his beard, "I have no reason not to trust you but what you are asking is for me to give you access to lore that was restricted for a reason. I'm sorry but I need more proof of this before I can grant you access."

Negi held up the journal. "This was my father's, it explains the matter more in detail; will it do? Look at the end for more info"

The old man accepted the book, "Let's see," He opened it and started flipping through the pages. After a few minutes he closed it. "I'm still having reservations about the matter." He said finally, "you may not be aware of it but your return has sent shockwaves through the supernatural world. You, like your father, are now an idol among the many school-tired youngsters of the academies of the world. It seems like everyone thinks that they can just run away and end up as powerful as you. If I would allow you access it would only intensify these rumors."

"And the fact that I was hunted by demons for nearly a year isn't discouraging them?"

The Magus shook his head "They only see the adventure. I need to ensure that this trend stops before it begins. Otherwise we might be looking at a large number of vanished children."

Negi thought for a while, "It might be dishonest but I have an idea on how we can dissuade them."

"What so you have in mind?" The Magus asked.

Negi explained the plan in detail, the Magus listened and when Negi finished he had a disapproving frown on his face. "It is not only a deceitful plan, it is dangerous too."

"The important thing is to stop the kids from leaving isn't it?" Negi asked. "I make no pretense of liking it but it would work and as far as I know you don't have any other plan."

The Magus sat silently. After a while he said. "Your father would be proud of you, he always hoped that you would find your own way and not be forced into becoming a copy of him. And this is something he never would have suggested. But you do realize you'll have to lie to your friends and family as well?"

"I see no alternative."

"Neither do I." The old man sighed, "I'm getting too old for this. Very well then, we will do it, I'll make certain that the healers are in on it. When do we do it?"

"We've got to act quickly; isn't there a duel tournament later today?" Negi asked. "That would be the perfect place."

"You truly have changed haven't you?" The Magus felt a small pang of sadness when looking at the young man in front of him. "I can hardly believe that you were once the boy who spent an entire day trying to find my cat when it had run away.

"I spent seven years traveling the world." Negi replied softly, "And unlike my father I didn't travel around doing heroics, half of the time was spent trying to survive. That's bound to change a person."

The arena was in an uproar; the news that Negi Springfield would participate in the duels had drawn the biggest audience in years. As the participants came out on the arena the cheers echoed across the field. When the referee called out the names of the first two combatants Negi took a good look at the other duelists. It wasn't a big tournament so his opponents wouldn't have enough skill to challenge him. With a little luck this would go smoothly. The first duel was over and now it was Negi's turn. He walked up on to the stage and went over to his position. His opponent, a boy of perhaps fourteen years was trembling. Negi smiled inwardly as he spoke up.

"Come on now boy," he said, "Show me what you got, make your family proud of you."

The boy nodded stiffly and started to chant. Negi quickly realized he was preparing a fire-based magic arrow spell. Negi started preparing his own magic arrows to counter them. The boy fired of the spell and seventeen burning arrows flew against Negi who responded with seventeen thunder arrows. The missiles struck each other, causing a large amount of dust to fly up and cover the field. Negi suddenly felt the boy's presence moving sideways at high speed. _"Air and fire." _He thought, "_Unusual combination." _Suddenly he felt an energy spike from the boy and a fire arrow shot out from the boy's position. Negi blocked, _"Better and better," Un-incanted magic, _He though._"_ He was impressed, the boy obviously was more skilled than Negi had first expected. He decided to test his opponent a little more and started chanting.

"Rastel Mascir Magister,A stream of light to cut through the darkness, spring forth from my hand and throttle my enemy, White lightning!" A stream of white lightning shot out from his hands towards the position he felt the boy from. The crack of thunder informed Negi that he had hit as the boy fell backwards to the ground. But the boy got up and started chanting again. The last of the smoke and dust dispersed and Negi saw the boy preparing another fire spell. It erupted from his hands and leaped towards Negi who strengthened his barriers.

The spell hit with great force and Negi decided that it was time, while he still was covered by the fire he reached into the robes; pulled out the small bottle he had prepared and downed the contents. Pain shot through him as the liquid tore at his intestines. The fires dispersed and the audience saw Negi holding out one hand against the boy and the other held against his mouth. He shook as a wracking cough erupted throwing out the blood in his mouth. He removed the hand and stared at it as if in shock. Then he went limp and fell unconscious to the ground.

Negi awoke in a hospital with a terrible headache. "_The price for drinking liquid negative energy I suppose."_ He then noticed the mountain of flowers beside him,_ "And let's not forget the fan girls," _He tried to smile but was rewarded with pain. He suddenly heard a commotion outside and a heavily accented voice that assured that if the owner of the voice weren't immediately allowed entrance there would soon be another disaster. The door burst open and a familiar silhouette hobbled in.

"By tha' gods laddie, yeh give us no end o' grief." Stan said as he sat down by the bed. "Why dinnae yeh tell us? If we had known we coulda helped yeh."

"I'm sorry Stan," Negi spoke the lines he had practiced several times. "But I just didn't want the first thing to happen when I came home to be that you rushed me off to the healing lodge for a couple of curses."

"A couple?" Stan yelled. "Seven curses, nine hexes, three daemonic charms an' tha' breath o' a black dragon is nothing to yeh?! Yeh daft fool! Do yeh realize that Nekane fainted when she heard what had happened?"

"Enough Stanley," the deep voice of the Magus called out as he entered the room. "Negi is in bad shape and need to rest."

The grizzled old man sighed and got up. "I promised yer da' I'd take care o' yeh Negi," he said quietly. "If yeh pull these tricks yeh'll end up in an early grave. Please laddie," Stan was pleading now, "Let us help yeh. Yeh can nae carry tha' world on yer shoulders."

Negi felt tears leaking out; he hated himself in that moment. "I'm sorry Stan, I shouldn't have done it. I just…" He bit his lip to avoid crying.

"Shhh laddie." Stan laid his hand one Negi's shoulder. "Rest now; we can talk about that yeh bein' a fool later." With a small smile he left.

The Magus closed the door and Negi spoke up. "Don't you think that list was a bit excessive?" He had expected something along the lines of a third of that list.

"Don't forget that you are a hero to many of the students. They wouldn't have bought that a single hex might cause you to fall."

"Very well, what's done is done." Negi took a deep breath. "I just hope it will work."

"It did," The Magus walked up to the window. "The entire academy is abuzz with rumors and speculations about how you have suffered in your journeys. When you address them we will effectively have put an end to the students' travel lust."

"Thank the powers for that." Negi closed his eyes.

"I believe that you are the one to thank here." The Magus looked at him. "Your plan worked much better than I had expected. When you get better you will be allowed access to the library. The official version will be that you seek a cure for one of the curses." the ancient mage looked at the boy "Do you regret doing it? "

"I regret the necessity, I never doubted it." Negi mumbled, "I hate doing these kinds of things but sometimes you have to. That was one of the things I learned during my time as a mercenary."

"Make sure you never lose that regret Negi," the Magus said gravely, "this type of subterfuge can be just as addictive as magic."

Next day Negi was visited by Anya and Nekane, the latter nearly devastated, during their visit Negi felt yet again the pang of anger at himself for doing it, later the boy who had fought him came with his parents who desperately apologized on their son's behalf. Negi had silenced them and told them to be proud over the boy; he had also whispered a pair of tips to the boy on how he might improve his spell casting. On the following day he addressed the student body.

"I want you all to take a look at me. I came home with twenty different curses on me; my body is scarred from head to toe and I nearly died from a duel. I ran away from home and this is what I got out of it. A broken spirit and a battered body. I know that many of you long after adventures and see me and my father as idols, but my father is missing since ten years back and I came home like this. Wandering the world on your own might sound fun but it is nothing other that one trial after another. Join groups that do international work if you want to travel, don't do it alone." After that he had broken down coughing and been led away by the healers. The eyes of the crowd told him that there would most probably be no more talk of leaving the academy.

On the third day Anya came alone. She entered the room with a look on her face that unnerved him greatly.

"I don't believe this one second Negi." She said going right to the point. "You got off nearly one hundred and fifty magic arrows against me, in three volleys I might add. There is no way that parrying that boy's spell could have done this if you managed to do that. Spill it, what are you up to."

Negi realized there was no way of dodging her and explained everything to her.

"I understand." Her face was yet again an unreadable mask. "I won't say anything but do you understand how it feels to have been lied to by you?"

"Bad I suppose;" Negi shrugged. "Personally I feel like crap for lying to you all like this. But know this; there was no other way, explain that it is dangerous? I got out of it in good shape, why shouldn't they do it? Tell them to finish studying? Their teachers have already told them that so many times that they don't even hear it anymore. The only way to change the mind of those who already have decided is to something like this."

"You seem to know a lot about this." Anya remarked.

"I didn't survive seven years traveling merely by brute force. One of father's old friends told me that a victory won with words is greater than one won with battle. And some times the right words must be wrong to win." Negi had a distant look in his eyes.

"Tell me something," Anya said after a while trying to change the subject. "How were you planning to dodge your fan girls?" She had a smile on her face.

"Well, I suppose I have to pretend I already have a girlfriend." Negi had a good idea where this might lead. "Would you be interested perhaps?" He looked at Anya.

"You knew I was going to say that didn't you?" Anya's smile grew wider.

"I assumed, you're the fortuneteller." Negi returned the smile. "But yes, it was pretty obvious."

"Deal, if you promise to buy me dinner when you get out tomorrow."

"Again?" Negi raised an eyebrow. "Can't you come up with anything new?"

"Actually that time doesn't count." Anya was grinning widely. "I wanted a candlelight dinner, not a big party, I'm actually giving you a better deal, forgiveness AND a faux girlfriend for only one dinner."

"Deal." Negi threw up his hands and chuckled. "You win."

"Good." Anya sat down at the bed and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I'll come over tomorrow and help you get home." Then she left, leaving Negi alone with his thoughts.


	6. Fate?

**Chapter 5: Fate?**

A week after the duel Negi sat in the restricted part of the library cursing the legendary Merlin for being unable to keep to the subject. The medieval mage had during his entire life been a troubled individual. Born of a demon and a holy woman he had never felt truly at home amongst mortals. When he fell in love with the ancient and manipulative water nymph Nimue he had been troubled enough that the Nymph had managed to chain him with a powerful hex, thereby controlling him and making him little more that a obedient lapdog. The greatest wizard of his time had been a slave to the spirit for the remainder of his unnaturally long life.

During his lucid moments he had desperately tried to find a way to break the curse that bound him to her. It was these writings that Negi was pouring through trying to find a way to undo the demonic pact he had read about. But the parchments were filled with equal parts starry-eyed fawning over the Nymph, bitter cursing of a cruel fate, dreams of how freedom would be and actual information on how to do it. Negi pushed the third book away in disgust and took a mouthful of water, the only liquid allowed in the library. He had been sitting for nearly eight hours straight and his head felt like a wet sponge.

He got up and walked out to get some air. Outside he leaned against the pillars and breathed deep. It was a sobering experience to learn that the mage of legend was a melodramatic whiner. But who was he to judge? If a dominative bitch had enthralled him for fifty years he might very well have gone crazy too. He looked out across the welsh landscape. Summer was in full bloom and in the distance he saw a pair of kids running around in one of the endless games of childhood. He cringed when he thought that. He sounded like an old man. He was only seventeen for crying out loud! He should be sitting with his friends outside the academy and talk about girls, not burying himself in old tomes.

He smiled sourly as he came to the realization that, as a teenager, he was a complete failure. One friend and she was a girl, shouldn't he have about a dozen male friends that he sat with talking about girls, what he wanted to do with his life and about his idiotic teachers? He didn't even think about girls, shouldn't they be all he thought about? The latest half of his life had been nothing else than an extended pain. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Anya coming up behind her.

"Earth to Negi," She said when she saw his faraway gaze, "Do you hear me?" No answer. "Hey dreamer!" she stepped him on the foot, "Wake up!"

Negi was brought out of his thoughts by the pain in his foot. "Ow!" he looked at her, "What?" He hissed irritably.

"I came to check up on you, you've been hiding in there since breakfast, and don't snarl at me thank you." She said calmly. "I take it that you don't make too much progress?"

"Sorry Anya," Negi said apologetically, "No I'm not making any progress because the theatrical twit spends as much time writing crappy poetry as he does telling me anything useful and on top of that I just realized that I suck as a human being. Aren't I supposed to have fun at this age? Aren't I supposed to be concerned with how to sneak away from home to go to my friends' no-parents party? I may be a good mage but I suck at having fun and I'm so sick of it! I quit, no more, where's my stand in? I want a freaking vacation, anything, just no more of this shit!" At the end of the tirade he was waving his arms around and yelling.

Anya gave him a long stare and finally said with a smile. "You know what? You're right. Let's cash in that dinner you owe me, pick me up at seven and be sure to wear something nice." She turned around and walked away. "And make sure to put the books back where you took them!"

Negi looked at her retreating form and smiled. He realized how much he had missed her. They had met the first time when Negi was sitting under a tree crying after having been told that his father had disappeared and most likely was dead. She had come up to him and sat down beside him. When he had looked up on her she had grabbed him and wiped away his tears with a smile and asked him if he wanted to go chasing frogs. After that they had been nearly inseparable. She had been his courage during the six years that they had known each other.

He walked back into the library and gathered up his notes. Glancing at the book he had been reading he suddenly froze. The part after the one where he had given up read:

_After so many years of slavery to this fair demon I have succeeded! I have found the final keys to freedom. To break these chains of love and sorcery I must fight not her, but the oath itself. It is a living being of its own. A being whose sole purpose is to chain me. The oaths of magic cannot be broken because they do not wish to die! That is the secret! It is a spirit in itself. _

Negi sat down and dived headlong into the text. He became enraptured by it and furiously scribbled down notes. When he finished the book he clenched his fists. This was it! He had a solid clue to go on now! The items required would be hard to find but he still had a chance. He rose from the chair and looked at the windows. It was twilight. Suddenly he looked at his watch and his heart froze. It was half seven!

He quickly put the books back where he took them and ran out with the notes under his arm. With the aid of Shundo he got to his cousin's house in five minutes. He burst through the door and into his room, dumping the notes on the desk he desperately started to dig through his bags trying to find something to wear. The fact that he had spent the last seven years as a wanderer grinned him sadistically in the face and he realized he had nothing. His thoughts ran amok and he nearly had a nervous breakdown.

"There you are," Nekane said behind him, "Come now, we are in a hurry." She grabbed him and pulled him into the living room.

"Nekane, sorry but I'm having a crisis here." He desperately pleaded.

"You mean the date," She smiled widely, "That has already been taken care of."

Then Negi saw the suit, it was lying on the table and beside it stood a pair of black shoes.

"Now come here," Nekane pushed him out on the floor. "Take your clothes of, I need to measure you." She said with a voice that wouldn't accept any protests. Negi obeyed and she whipped out a measuring tape. Moving at incredible speed she started measuring him up. After a minute she stopped and walked up to the table.

"Jump into the shower." She said, "I need a few minutes to do this."

Negi jumped into the shower and cleaned himself furiously. When he came out he noticed a bottle of deodorant standing on the sink. Nekane had written a small note on it. "Use this." He dabbed himself with it and walked out into the living room again. The suit was floating in the air and small sewing needles were darting in and out of it at incredible speed. Suddenly the needles stopped and Nekane, who was holding out her hands against the suit, pulled her hands back and the suit flew towards her. She caught it and walked up to him. She sniffed at him and smiled.

"Perfect. Not too much and not too little." She gave the suit to him. "Put it on, you have fifteen minutes left." Negi put on the suit quickly and fixed the tie in the mirror when Nekane came out from the kitchen.

"Here," She handed him a pair reservation slips. "This is reservations at the Singing Fairy, you remember where it lies I hope?"

"Yes I do, unicorn road beside the wand maker." Negi looked at Nekane, "How did you know that…"

"Stan overheard you two at the library and he told me." Nekane smiled. "And I know that you have problems with letting go when you study. Now go, and don't run, you'll not make a good impression if you are sweaty, be polite at all times and make sure that she gets home at a decent time." She instructed him.

Negi hugged Nekane. "I love you sis." He said. "You saved my life."

"Out," She commanded, "you have a date waiting."

Negi put on the trench coat Nekane gave him and put on the shoes. Walking out into the evening he walked quickly to Anya's house. On the way he passed the village florist. He bought a few roses and resumed his trek. When he walked up the path to Anya's house he felt a lump in his throat. He knocked at the door and a large shaggy man that Negi remembered was Anya's father Marcus opened. When he saw Negi his face split in a huge grin. He turned around and roared with a voice that shook the house. "Anya, your boyfriend is here!" Negi flinched slightly at the volume. "I'll be down in a minute." Anya's voice came from upstairs.

Marcus turned around and grinned at Negi. "As always eh? They tell you to be on time but they take their sweet time getting ready." He noticed the roses. "Flowers!" He said as he took them. "For me! How sweet of you," He dragged Negi inside into the kitchen where he took out a bottle.

"Now let's see if you are man enough to date my baby," he laughed as he poured some of the liquid into two glasses. Negi accepted the one of the glasses and sipped carefully, he remembered the giant's reputation as a moonshiner. He was rewarded with a burning sensation in the throat. He cringed and Marcus slapped him in the back with a laugh. "Now don't drink like some prissy girl! Bottom-up!"

"Thank you but I'll pass." Negi put away the glass. "It's a little too strong for me."

"Wasn't it you who dueled with twenty curses on you?" Marcus emptied his glass. "You should be able to take a little booze". He held out the other glass. "Now drink," he said with his trademark grin. "You can take it."

"Okay," Negi wondered if that stubbornness was a trademark for Anya's family. He took the glass and downed it all in one sweep. The moonshine burned like fire and he felt ready to throw up. "God damn it!" He swore and broke down into a coughing fit. Marcus roared with laughter and patted him on the back. "That's the spirit kiddo. You'll be alright; I don't trust a man who can't hold his drink." Negi muttered thanks and used an unincanted spell to cleanse his body of the alcohol. The last thing he needed now was to get drunk and mess up the date.

Suddenly he heard footsteps in the stairwell and Marcus dug out a mint tablet and stuffed it into his mouth. He held up one finger to his mouth and hushed. Negi grabbed his flowers and walked out into the hallway. When he saw Anya he froze, she looked stunning in a beautiful blue dress. Her hair was put up in a complicated hairstyle with pearls braided into it.

"Well?" She said expectantly, "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure actually," Negi said trying to regain his composure. "I thought they outlawed hypnotizing clothes."

Marcus roared with laughter and Anya gave him a smile. "Why thank you."

Negi extended the flowers, "Perhaps this is a good opportunity for these. I thought it would be fitting for the occasion." Anya accepted the flowers and smelled at them. Her mother Hannah came down the stairs and looked at her daughter. She saw the flowers and grabbed Negi's cheeks.

"God I can't believe how much you have grown up." She said as she pulled them. "It feels like yesterday you were chasing frogs together and now you take my baby out on a date," she looked ready to cry, "Where are you going?" She said as she took Anya's flowers and put them in a vase. Negi smiled as he held up the reservation slips and gave them to her.

"Oh my god!" Hannah exclaimed as she saw what restaurant it was. "Look Marcus", she said as she waved around them in his face. "Look where he takes her."

"I see it." Marcus tried to grab them, "Now give them back, they need them."

Hannah handed Negi the slips and looked sourly at her husband. "Why didn't you ever take me there?"

"Oh for the sake of…" Anya grabbed Negi and pulled him to the door, "Let's get out of here." She put on her jacket and Negi opened the door for her. "After you." He said.

"Of course," Anya swished past him.

As they walked through the summer evening they talked about their lives had been the last seven years, Anya told Negi about how the life in the village had been and Negi told her about his journeys. As they neared the restaurant Negi was telling Anya about Kotaro.

"He was an incredible guy, brave, straightforward, honest and unflinchingly loyal."

"Sounds like a good guy." Anya was fascinated by what she had heard about his journeys.

"He was," Negi suddenly remembered something and smiled. "But he was so focused on fighting that he became kind of clumsy with things that didn't have with fighting to do. I remember when he met Takamichi the first time. Takamichi was impressed by Kotaro and said that he was the perfect complement for me. You know what he answered?"

"No, what?"

"I ain't nobody's condiment!" Anya burst into laughter. They entered the restaurant and Negi showed the waiter their reservations. They were led to a table where they sat down and were given the menus. When they had ordered food and drink the waiter disappeared and soon came back with two glasses of soft drinks. After putting them down he lit the candles on the table and disappeared again. Anya chose this moment to speak up.

"I must say that you surprised me. I expected something half as big as this."

"Then why the dress?" Negi wondered. "You look like you are attending a grand ball."

"That was because mom wouldn't let me take something else." She said. "I thought she would split in two as she ran around dragging out all kinds of jewelry and dresses."

"I understand what you mean." Negi chuckled. "When I came home Nekane practically tore off my clothes to measure me." He decided to omit that he had forgotten the whole date when he returned to the books. "She commanded around me like a general."

"I suppose that when something that has been expected for ten years finally happens it's kind of unavoidable." Anya took a sip of her soft drink.

"What?" Negi wondered.

"Oh please don't tell me you have forgotten how they talked about us back then." Anya looked at him.

Negi suddenly remembered; the people of the town had always said that they were destined to end up together. Negi had usually blushed when they said that and Anya would protest vehemently.

"I remember now." He said, "And you're right, it makes much more sense now."

The conversation floated on until the food came in. As they ate Negi spoke up. "You know Anya, I've been thinking on something. If you still want to travel I could give you a letter of recommendation to the Everlasting Wind." He took a sip of his drink. "I can actually understand your desire to travel."

Anya looked at him. "You are kidding right?"

"No, let me show you." Negi started chanting softly and suddenly he transformed to a Japanese man with dog-ears. "This is the face of Inugami Kaguro; my alias that I used when working with them a few years ago." He transformed back to his normal appearance. "I actually gained quite a bit of renown there. If you want to I'll write a letter of recommendation that could very well guarantee you getting a job with them."

Anya was silent for a while. "Can I think it over?"

"Sure."

The dinner went on and when they were finished Negi asked for the bill. "Do you mind if we take a walk afterwards?" Anya asked.

"Not at all." Negi got up from the table. "I've missed the Welsh evenings actually."

They left the restaurant and walked along the streets. As they reached the town square Anya sat down on the edge of the fountain. "I want to thank you for defeating me actually." She said. Negi sat down beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"I was so focused on getting out of this town and travel the world after you that I never thought about the risks involved." She said. "I was no different from the kids at the academy that you shook up with that little display of yours. But when I saw you at the hospital I realized how dangerous it was. You might have lied about the curses but I saw your scars." She looked at him. "You looked like you've been vivisected." Did you get all of those in your journeys?"

Negi nodded.

"I thought so," She looked away, "I think I will stay here for a little while longer. Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Promise me you'll come and visit if you can. I don't expect you to stay here."

"You don't know that," Negi said gently, "When all this is over I'll come back."

"No you won't, because that's not you. You'll find some other adventure, someone else who needs help. That's who you are." She smiled. "I'm happy we had this date but let's go home now."

"You're right," Negi replied "It's getting cold."

As they reached Anya's house she turned around and looked at him.

"Can you promise another thing?"

"Sure."

"If you find a girl who can travel with you and give you love; don't push her away. We weren't meant to be Negi, I hardly recognize you. I remember you as the little boy who sat crying under a tree. You are more like your father now than you know. I will always care for you but I cannot love you. I can only see you as a friend." She had a sad look on his face.

Negi smiled softly and put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you Anya." He said, "I don't know what I would do without you. And I don't blame you for anything. I never expected things to go back to how they were. You will always be like a sister to me as much as Nekane is but I know that that's as far as we can go."

Anya smiled. "I'm glad you see it that way." She glanced at her house, "Don't look, they are watching us", she whispered with a little humor in her voice. "I think they expect the big kissing scene."

"Might as well give them their money's worth or what do you think? Negi smiled.

"Don't get any ideas mister," Anya growled but with a smile. "Okay, a small one then."

She leaned in and planted a quick peck on his lips. Then she turned around and walked into the house. Negi stood still and looked at her. After a while he turned around and walked home. He felt a little sad that this was as far as they could go but it was for the best. Anya was probably right. If he managed save his father he would go back to traveling. He remembered something Kotaro had said. "_I'm a lone wolf, I didn't choose it but I am and that has defined me. I hunt and that's what I am, a hunter, I couldn't imagine any other life than this." _

"Is this fate?" Negi asked himself. "To be forced onto a path and eventually be unable to leave it?" He walked up the path to Nekane's house. The thing that struck him was that he didn't want to leave the life of traveling. He might have been chased away from home and baptized to the traveling life in blood and pain, he fingered the scar on his chest, but he couldn't honestly say that he had been unhappy these last years. He loved to challenge himself and to see new sights, and if he settled down he would have to live with the fact that he if he still had traveled he could have helped people that now died. He walked in through the front door and hung up the coat. As he took of the suit he decided to think on the whole matter tomorrow.


	7. Trials and Missions

**Chapter 6. Trials and Missions**

Negi awoke from a dream where he was running through an endless hallway being chased by demons. The demons got closer and closer no matter how fast he ran. When they nearly had caught him he came upon a door and threw it open trying to escape. But inside the room he had entered stood a giant demon wreathed in flames. It looked at him and hissed. Negi suddenly awoke and sat up with a start covered is cold sweat, panting.

"I know, you bastard," he muttered silently, "I know."

After having stopped panting he sat on the edge of the bed trying to gather his thoughts. He remembered the events of last night and sighed. Today would be a long day. He put on his clothes and walked out into the kitchen where Nekane was making breakfast. He saw a woman in suit sitting at the table that he remembered as the Magus' ministra Sabine. She stood up when he entered and extended her hand. Negi shook it.

"It is an honor to finally meet you mister Springfield." She said formally. "The Magus sent me to inform you that he wishes to meet you as soon as possible."

"Did he say what it was about?"

"It has been decided that you are to be given a chance to graduate."

Negi blinked. "How?" He asked "I'm a drop-out; I abandoned the academy, why am I given a new chance."

"The teachers at the academy have been meeting with the Magus and they believe that it would be a shame if you weren't given a chance to graduate seeing as how you were more or less chased away from home." Sabine replied. "You are to take some tests this evening and if you pass you are to be seen as a graduate and given a diploma."

Negi maintained a calm façade but inside he was seething with anger. He had just found the secret and now he had to spend god knows how long time on some trial assignment!

Nekane covered her mouth. "My god Negi that's great!" She said, "I was so concerned about that, now you finally have a chance at becoming a Magister Magi."

"Yes," Sabine smiled at Nekane, "But apparently there were some issues that needed to be addressed first and that magus wanted to see you to deal with them." She looked at Negi and sent him a telepathic message

"_There is still a way to solve this, the Magus has a plan."_

"Does he have to leave at once?" Nekane asked.

"No miss there is no need to hurry, I'm sure the Magus would understand if you had breakfast first."

After the breakfast Sabine and Negi left for the academy. When the entered the Magus' office the old man looked at Negi. "Judging from your face I'd say you don't want to go back to school." He joked.

Negi sat down. "Just tell me; what brought this on?"

"Your display at the tournament made the teachers uncertain on your level of skill. They told me that since you apparently never got a chance to take the tests you should be given a chance now."

"Okay, I suppose I should be grateful I managed to dig out the secret yesterday:"

"You did?"

"Yes," Negi took out his notes and put the on the desk, "Take a look at this. It's quite simple really but it will take a bunch of very rare components and immense power to pull it off."

The magus looked at the notes. After a while he chuckled. "This discovery is enough to guarantee you a place as a teacher in my academy. It feels kind of ridiculous to let you take the students' tests."

"No to forget that that whole thing will prevent me from making any progress with breaking the oath until my training assignment is over. How should we solve that?"

"You'll see." the old man's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Why can't you just tell me now?"

"Consider it my revenge for forcing me to go through with that underhanded plan of yours." the Magus retorted.

* * *

Later that day Negi sat alone in a big lecture hall writing down answers on an answering sheet. He thanked Albreido in his mind for insisting on teaching him magic theory as much as he had taught spells. The questions were much harder than he had expected and he had to think over every answer. When he turned in the sheet he couldn't help to notice that the examiner looked shocked when he saw the he had answered every question. As he exited the room he noticed that Sabine was standing in the hallway.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"I was actually hoping you would grant me a favor." She admitted.

"And that would be?"

"I want to test your fighting capabilities. Judging from what I've heard you are exceptionally skilled at fighting and I've been wondering just how good you are. Would you do me the honor?"

Negi hesitated for a moment. The rumors said that the woman in front of him was as skilled in fighting as the magus was in magic. She was reputed to have killed a demon lord in one heartbeat. He realized he was trembling with eagerness at the prospect of testing himself against her.

"Sure." He said, "Which rules?"

"Without partner but with contract execution and artifact. You can use spells. We fight in a magical haven to ensure privacy."

"Deal."

They walked down into the cellars where the Magus' laboratory lay. Upon entering Negi saw the Magus standing by one of the tables working on something. He turned around and looked at Negi.

"Thank you for giving Sabine this opportunity." He said. "She's been itching for a worthy opponent." He stepped aside and Negi saw a crystal ball with a model of a castle inside. "This is my latest creation." He explained. "It's possesses all the necessary facilities and are not limited to exiting and entering at certain times you can even change the climate inside."

Negi whistled. "That can't have been easy." Even creating a normal haven was a mighty challenge. To create something like that would require skill he could currently only dream of.

"Do you have any suggestions for weather?" Sabine asked when they had entered the haven.

"Hmmmm…" Negi thought. "Shall we try blizzard?" He asked.

"Why not?" The Magus raised his staff and chanted. The temperature dropped in an instant and a freezing wind hit them.

* * *

At the moment Nekane and Stan was sitting at the inn drinking tea. It was Stan who had suggested that they went out.

"D'yeh believe tha' he'll make it?" Stan asked, "Ah 'eard tha' they'll give 'im a special test 'cause they'll reckon 'e should 'ave learned more than tha basics during these years.

"I have every confidence in him:" Nekane replied sombrely, "Negi has always been a bright boy. He will pull through.

"'ow can yeh know tha'? Yeh haven't seen 'im fer seven years 'an now 'es come back completely changed.

"He's still the boy that slept beside me because he was afraid of darkness Stan," Nekane smiled, "you look too much at the differences. Try to look at the parts of him that's still the same. His admiration for Nagi, his desire to help, his devotion to those he cares for, that hasn't changed a bit."

"Perhaps…" Stan mused, "yeh may be right, it's jess a lil 'ard ta see 'im as tha boy 'e once were, 'e's so grown up now. T'would 'ave been nice ta' see 'im grow up to tha' man 'e is."

"I know," Nekane took a sip of her tea, "I wanted to be the one who told him why his voice broke when he entered puberty, to advice him on girls, to see him go with his friends to parties." She looked out through the window. "But you can't change the past even with magic."

Stan had something amused in his eyes. "Yeh know Nekane?"

"What?"

"Yeh need a husband. What yeh 'as been describin' isn't a lil' brother. It's a son."

"Stan!" Nekane protested.

"Ah'm serious Nekane, yer twenty-three now an' yah 'avent even 'ad a boyfriend." Stan had a serious look at his face, "an' tha' ain't 'cause yer ugly or unpleasant. Yeh be a pretty girl wit' a heart o' gold. Why dinnae yeh 'ave dozens o' lads' who wants ta' date yeh? Yeh know tha' yeh cannae devote yer entire life ta' Negi. 'E be grown up now, the lass in 'is life now is a girlfriend, nae 'is sister. Go an' find a nice lad ta' date an' perhaps marry wit'. Yeh deserve it." Stan finished his tea. "'Twas nice talking wit' yeh lassie." He got up and left. Nekane remained at the table looking down into the cup, a solitary tear running down her cheek.

* * *

Negi stood at the top of the tower, the Cantus Bellax wreathing him in magical energy and protecting him from the raging snowstorm. He desperately looked around trying to see his opponent. He was on the blink of defeat; she was incredible! He leapt away just in time before she struck the tower with enough force to sent it crumbling. He landed on the battlement and sent a stream of lightning against the tower. She dodged it and rushed against him. Negi realized he had only one chance to win this. He attacked her straight on and summoned a dozen magical arrows around him but when she hit him with a kick they disappeared. She punched him into the keep walls. Negi flipped around and landed with his feet on the wall. Using magic to remain standing he looked at her.

"Let's end this now, okay?" He shouted his challenge.

The ministra looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed. "_What is he up to? He has no chance as it is." _She thought, "Very well, I accept." She yelled back.

Negi summoned a swarm of arrows, launched them as one giant arrow and then bent his knees focusing everything he had into his legs. He launched himself from the wall with a maximum speed Shundo. Sabine deflected the arrow with a mighty swing of her artifact, a broadsword, but when she had deflected it she saw Negi right behind her. She tried to sidestep but he was too swift and crashed into her. She flew sprawling backwards and landed outside the castle. Leaping to her feet she felt his presence behind her. She looked backwards only to see his fist flying against her with a vortex of magical arrows around it. _"A delayed spell" _Was her last thought before it hit her.

* * *

Negi sat in the infirmary being bandaged by the healer who was berating him for being so careless.

"It is only one week since we removed twenty curses from you and you are already picking fights with people." The old woman rambled, "You might be protected by magic but to fight just for fun; well I'm telling you that never happened in my youth. People running around and treating magic like a toy." She continued as she applied a salve to the bruise on his forehead. "You would do well to be more respectful of your powers young boy, if you can raze a castle you should learn to restrain yourself."

Negi saw the Magus entering the room and the old woman stood up curtsying to him.

"The boy is in good shape sir," She said respectfully. "You ministra will also recover soon. They both have their fair share of scratches and bruises but otherwise they are in good shape."

"Thank you miss," the Magus bowed slightly and turned to Negi, "I must say that I'm impressed by you Negi, I never expected you to be so skilled you could defeat Sabine. That attack of yours was really well executed."

"It's one of my favorite moves," Negi replied, "I suppose you could call it a secret technique."

"Don't you need a name for those?" Sabine joked as she entered with a bandage around her forehead. "Like "Dance of the whirling leaves" or something like that?"

"That's the problem; I don't have any good ideas for names." Negi grinned.

"Well a good name would be descriptive. Take the Shinmeiryû for example, their signature move is the Zanganken, rock slicing sword." Sabine said. "And it can be poetic too, like the Hyakkaryouran, hundred flower pandemonium."

"How does "Meteor charge" sound?" Negi asked after having pondered a few seconds,

"Not bad but perhaps something like "Divine silver swarm strike" would be better.

"True but I would have to fire several small arrows instead of one then if it's supposed to be descriptive and then you can still see me, the trick is to hide behind the blast and follow up with a delayed spell."

"Okay. How about "Shooting star wind? The wind would be the following punch and the initial arrow looks like a shooting star." The Magus suggested.

"I don't know it sounds a little… it don't roll of the tongue so easily." Negi scratched his cheek. "Searing wind of the demon star" perhaps?"

"Oh my lord, don't tell me you are giving your punches pet names," The old healer said with a disbelieving look at her face. "You must have hit each other harder than I thought." She muttered.

* * *

Negi felt more than little out of place standing amongst the ten year old graduates. He understood that it was unavoidable but he till felt ridiculous amongst them. He wondered if people thought he must have failed seven years in a row and not graduated until now. The thought made him smile dryly. He looked at the other graduates and saw them all looking away from him and trying to hide the fact that they had been staring at him. The realization hit him that he might very well be their idol. They might look at him as he looked upon Takamichi; a hero and a role model. Perhaps they wanted to be like him and travel like him. His act at the tournament had made sure that there wouldn't be any runaways but did they still admire him?

He hoped not. He wasn't a model for anyone.

He was brought out of his pondering when the Magus shouted his name.

"Negi Springfield, step forward and take your diploma."

He walked up to the podium with his head held highly. The old man handed him a parchment and whispered. "Don't worry; I have made sure you will be able to continue your work with breaking the curse."

"I know I can trust you." He whispered back.

As he walked out of the room Nekane met him.

"I'm happy for you Negi," She smiled but she had a worried look in her eyes, "but won't this stand in the way for your search?"

"No it won't," Negi said and opened the scroll. For a few seconds he felt a knot of fear in his stomach. He would be bound to pursuing whatever the diploma told him to and if he left his assigned career he would never be given a chance again. But when the letters appeared he drew a sigh of relief.

"A teacher in Japan?" Nekane stared at the diploma.

"Let me clarify," Negi took up his father's journal and opened a book-marked page. He held it up to Nekane who read it.

"_Princess will be going with Gateau and Takamichi, I just hope that when I see her again she will be rid of the cursed oath."_

"Where Takamichi is, she will be too." Negi said, "And Takamichi is at Mahora academy where I'll teach."

Nekane looked confused, "How did you know you would end up there?"

"It was I actually." The voice of the magus came from behind them. They turned around to see the old man hobbling closer to them. "The diploma was faked in order to place him there without raising any questions. The ritual he is planning is too dangerous; if it fell into the wrong hands it could release even the demon kings from their bonds and allow them to roam freely across creation. I must ask you to swear silence in this matter. We have to act in secrecy to prevent powers that mustn't know from knowing that there is a way to give them absolute freedom."

The magus looked sternly at them. "In this matter I will allow Negi to inform those that he deem trustworthy and can aid the cause about the truth but only him! If you or Stanley tells anyone else I will take action against you."

"I understand", Nekane bowed her head. "I swear upon the powers that are mine that I won't tell anyone." She solemnly said as she swore a magic oath.

"Good," The magus relaxed, "I don't know if I could live with having to judge you. I have already informed Stanley and he has sworn the oath too, Negi."

"Yes sir?"

"I will consider you my hand in this matter." The Magus said thereby bestowing a great honor upon him. As the hand of a Magus all actions that he preformed would by default be considered approved of by the Magus that had given him the title.

"Thank you sir." Negi bowed.

"That is all I can do to help you now." The old man said as he extended his hand, "But please don't flaunt it. Use it only as a last way out."

"Believe me I will," Negi shook his hand and felt a tickling sensation as the mark of the Welsh Magus was burned into his hand. In his hand now shone with a white light a Celtic eternity knot. Negi looked at it as it faded away. He willed his magic into the symbol and made it appear again when he removed the magic it faded again.

"Now go," The magus said, "The students of Japan are awaiting you."


	8. Welcome to Japan

Author's Note: Now the real story starts. I think this would be a good time to get some things clear. The Negi in this fic is far from the boy we all know. I have tried to make him a boy (or man depending on how you view it) who has gone through much and lived a life of trials. He has enough power, skill and experience to be a challenge even for the best. The trials he were to face at mahora are already taken care of and he is now a combat mage of enough power to defeat any of the opponents he faced in the original story. I have also taken away the ecchi humor since it didn't fit within this story. Basically this is a more serious and slightly darker version of the story with a protagonist that is very much unlike the original boy. Or if you shorten it down even more.

AU, OOC, slight darkfic

**Chapter 7: Welcome to Japan**

"_You'd think that they would give you a little more time to get accustomed to this country and all that" _Negi thought as he stood on the train. From the revelation that he were to work at a junior high school in Japan he had had twenty-four hours to get there before his first classes started. After a mad dash to pack he had jumped aboard the first available train to London and taken the plane to Japan. He felt a sense of nostalgia when he heard the Japanese language for the first time in over a year. He had actually missed Japan; it was here that he had met Albreido and Kotaro. The latter had become like a brother to him in the years that they traveled together.

He sighed as the sadness came back "_Stop it!" _He thought to himself, "_are you going to mope your entire life over his death?" _He pushed away the thoughts and looked around. He noticed that the train was filled with girls only. A fact that was slightly troublesome for him due to the cramped nature of Japanese trains and the fact that he was only human. One of the girls looked at him.

"Shouldn't you have gotten off at the last stop?" She asked.

"You seem like you wouldn't have any problems with that; getting off I mean," one of the girls added.

Negi rolled his eyes as he remembered that even though the Japanese had a tradition of being polite and reserved they could also be exceptionally dirty-minded. He suddenly got the urge to use his wind magic to flip up their miniskirts. He quickly suppressed the urge and wondered if it was something in the air that made them so perverted and if he could ward himself against it.

"Next stop, Mahora Academy, central station," The loudspeakers announced and the girls readied themselves.

"See you around cutie." the girls dashed out of the train with full speed when the doors opened. Negi followed the flow and heard the loudspeakers again.

"Welcome back students! The student counseling committee has declared this punctuality week! Ten minutes until first bell! Lateness will not be tolerated!" The loudspeakers yelled and in all directions Negi saw girls running like mad towards the station exit. "Anyone late this week will receive a yellow card, so we urge you to be at school as early as possible!"

"What is this; Football?" Negi muttered, he remembered how parts of Japan had appeared insane in the beginning. He willed a small amount of magic into his legs and ran off at full speed. "_When in Rome, do like the Romans" _He thought.

"Takahata-sensei, Takahata-sensei, Takahata-sensei, Takahata-sensei, Takahata-sensei! Arf! " The bizarre yell came from a redheaded girl with long ponytails that had bells at the top. Negi was so taken aback that he couldn't help but to stare at her. The girl was running beside a black-haired girl on roller blades that said. "I can't believe that you are so gullible Asuna, I made it all up." Negi knew that he shouldn't but he couldn't help but to laugh.

The girl with the hair bells turned towards him and glared at him. "What are you laughing at?!" She yelled.

"Nothing," Negi said trying to suppress his smile, "Nothing at all."

That seemed only to aggravate the girl who grabbed him, she was surprisingly strong, and pulled him to a halt. "You think I'm funny huh? Stop laughing at me now!" She yelled.

"Well sorry but I couldn't help but find it funny."

"Aren't you supposed to be in the other part of the academy?" The black-haired girl said trying to defuse the situation. "This is the all girls' part of Mahora."

"Right! You apologize right now or I'll put you under the train!" The red – headed girl yelled.

Negi was really taken aback by the girl. Not even Kotaro had been this aggressive.

"Well well," A voice came from the nearest building. "Still making friends Asuna." Negi looked at the owner of the voice. It was a face he hadn't seen in years. Takahata Takamichi, the man to whom he owed his life. "I see you… is that you Negi?!"

"Negi? Who's…? Takahata – sensei!" Asuna let go of him as if she had been burned and looked at Takamichi with adoring eyes.

"Good to see you again Takamichi," Negi shouted, "How's it going you nut?"

"Nut?!… How… you…" She looked between them with a look of pure shock on his face.

"I see you have been introduced to two of the girls." Takahata smiled. "Who would have thought it huh? Negi-sensei eh?"

"Small world." Negi replied. _"If only you knew the truth." _ He thought.

"Did he just call you…?" The black-haired girl asked looking at him.

"Negi-sensei?" Negi asked. "Why yes," he straightened himself up and cleared his throat.

"My name is Negi Springfield," I said formally, "I will be your new English professor; it's a pleasure making your acquaintance."

Total silence loomed over the courtyard. Then Asuna exploded.

"I-I'll kill him!" She screeched and grabbed him. "What kind of sick joke is this?!"

"Calm down Asuna," Takamichi came out from the building, "He's brighter than he appears."

"_Gee thanks Takamichi," _Negi thought.

"You'll actually see that for yourself." He continued, "He's taking over my class."

Asuna paled and got a despairing look at her face. "B-but Takahata-sensei," She pleaded, "If you stopped teaching it would break my…"

"_Oh boy, she's got it bad." _Negi realized the girl had a serious crush on Takamichi and decided to intervene.

"Perhaps we should go and see the headmaster; he should be able to clarify things."

Asuna whirled around and grabbed him. "Who do you think you are that you can just walk in here and replace Takahata-sensei you… you nit, you nothing, you…!"

"I think the dean is expecting you actually." Takamichi intervened. "We probably should get there now. And apparently you two are supposed to be there as well." He said to the two girls. Asuna dropped him and they walked into the building.

* * *

"Headmaster, please tell me this is a joke," Asuna said to the old man behind the desk.

"If you wish," The headmaster replied, "But then I would be lying."

"But he's only, what, sixteen years old?" Asuna desperately protested.

"I'm seventeen actually. And I have a degree from Oxford university," Negi interjected, "I graduated with top marks and I have all the necessary merits." She was quickly working her way up on his list of irritating people.

"So Springfield;" The headmaster turned to him, "I've been informed about your background and I want you to know that I expect you to perform just as well as the other teachers. If you fail this assignment there won't be any other chances."

"I won't fail sir." Negi said with all the conviction he could muster. He realized that the headmaster meant both the assignment and his real mission "There is too much at stake to allow that."

"Good!" the old man had an approving look on his face, "Now if you require a girlfriend while you work here my granddaughter is currently single."

Negi sweatdropped at the thought and the black-haired girl, whose name apparently was Konoka, blushed fiercely. "Grandfather!" She protested.

"Now perhaps you should meet your advisor, Shizuna – sensei. You can come in now Shizuna."

A woman came in through the door and Negi couldn't help but to notice the fact that she had the largest "assets" he had ever seen. He focused his eyes on her face and bowed slightly.

"Shizuna has been kept abreast of the situation." The headmaster continued and Negi sweatdropped again. _"Subtle much?" _He thought.

"So, any questions?" She asked.

"None at the moment Shizuna-san," Negi answered politely.

"And while I'm at it," The headmaster continued, "There was the matter of your lodging, there has been a mix-up and you will have to stay with Asuna – chan and Konoka for the time being. A spare futon will be delivered tomorrow, until then you should let him lie on the couch."

Negi felt another sweatdrop, _"Is he senile!?"_ He wondered.

"Are you serious?" Asuna shouted, "Not enough with him being our teacher now we have to live with him? I'm not going to sleep in the same room as him. What is he tries to molest us?"

"That will be enough Asuna – san!" Negi had had enough. "I understand that you are displeased with me being your new teacher but the choice is not yours, it's the dean's. Furthermore you insult me if you believe that I would assault my students, to accuse me of such a thing is both unfair and uncalled for. Now headmaster if there was nothing more I would like to start today's classes."

"No I believe that was everything," The headmaster said as Asuna was near exploding, "Good luck, Springfield–sensei. Will you show him the classroom Shizuna?"

They left the office in silence and as they were heading to the classroom. When they walked through the hallway Negi felt Asuna's gaze drilling holes in the back of his head. He turned around and calmly said. "Is there anything you want to tell me Asuna – san?"

"I warn you," She growled, "If you as much as peek on me in the shower I will send you flying back to whatever country you came from."

"Great Britain actually, Wales." Negi informed her. Asuna clenched her fists and stormed off. Konoka followed her trying to calm her down.

"Is there something I should know of when it comes to her?" Negi asked Shizuna. "She seems to have some pretty serious issues."

"That's just the way she is," Shizuna smiled, "Don't worry, I'm sure, she'll warm up to you sooner or later. By the way here," she handed him a small book. "This is your class list. Takahata – sensei has written down a few notes for you."

Negi accepted the book and opened it. In the beginning was a collection of photographs, one of each girl in his class. He saw that there were thirty-one girls all in all.

"Well here it is," Shizuna stopped by a door with the sign 2-A above it. Negi took a deep breath and decided to try to make a good first impression. He walked swiftly towards the door and opened it.

* * *

Five seconds later he was lying crumpled against the teacher's desk with a bucket of cold water on his head and what felt like suction arrows attached to his butt. He lay perfectly still trying to grasp the situation. Upon entering an eraser had fallen off the door and towards his head, he had to prevent himself from instinctively making it levitate and he had been too focused on that to notice the tripwire, he had tripped and then the bucket and the arrows had followed.

"_So much for good first impression." _He thought as the girls were laughing like crazy. He slowly got up from the floor and pulled the bucket off his head and the arrows of his butt and looked at the girls with a severe face. Upon seeing his face most of them stopped laughing.

"You know; I could have been a research assistant at Oxford university," he said, "Professor Stanley said he would have been honored to have me as his assistant. But no, I wanted to teach, I left my home to come to a foreign country where I could teach people English. Was I stupid to do that?" He looked at the girls.

"A-are you our new teacher?" A blonde girl asked.

"Unfortunately; yes." Negi took out his handkerchief and dried his face. "My name is Negi Springfield and I'm your new English Professor. Now which one of you are the ninja responsible for this trap?" None of the girls said anything; Negi noticed that many of then seemed a little nervous. He saw that one of the girls in the back was trembling. He took a quick peek in the book and said. Number 23, Fumika Narutaki, step forward now."

The girl whimpered but got up and walked out to him. She stood in front of him and Negi drilled his gaze into her. "Now tell me this; what reason do I have not to order you to sit in the seiza position for the rest of this lesson?" The girl remained quiet but another girl, her twin from the looks of it, spoke up.

"It wasn't her sensei, it was me!" She yelled

"I'm not inclined to believe that, if she's innocent then why does she tremble?" Negi answered without taking his eyes off the girl if front of him.

"No ideas? Let me answer that question for you." Negi suddenly smiled. "I believe in good first impressions. Get back to your seat." He turned to the class. "What do you say we forget about this whole thing eh?" He didn't need enemies within his class and decided to laugh it off.

He knew that they would accept but he wasn't prepared for the cheer that erupted from the class when he finished his speech. He held up his hand and when the girls finished he said:

"Now I know English is a horrible subject but what do you say we give it a try?" The girls laughed as he took up the textbook and opened it. He read the first text piece and looked up. "Anyone care to give it a shot?" The fact that nearly all the girls looked away when he sought their eyes made him blink. Apparently this wasn't their strong suit. "Okay… Asuna – san, how about you giving it a shot?"

"What?!" She protested, "Don't we go by the class list or by name?"

"Didn't you know Asuna – san? We English teachers are unpredictable and mean by nature." This statement made the girls laugh. "Now give it a try."

Asuna grumbled but looked down into the book and tried to translate. Negi opened his eyes wide when he heard her. This wasn't good. Her English was on a level he would expect from someone in elementary school. Halfway through the text he stopped her. "Thank you Asuna – san that will do." He tried to come up with a painless way to tell her. "Not bad, but there is room for improvement on the translations."

"There is room for improvement in everything," one of the other girls said, "Asuna is horrible at English."

"And math." Another said

"And biology." Another added.

"She's bad at everything." The blonde girl finished.

"I'm not" Asuna jumped out of the chair, "I'm good at P.E."

"Yes but to only be good at P.E." The blonde retorted. "How unattractive."

"What did you call me?!"

"I called you unattractive! An ape!" The blonde girl stood up to and they began to fight. Negi stared at them. This was unbelievable. He stared at them as the other girls formed a circle and started to cheer at the two combatants. Finally he pushed his way into the circle and broke them up.

"Does anyone here have a map?" he asked, "I was supposed to teach junior high and I seem to have come to elementary." The blonde blushed at the remark and Asuna gave him a killing glare, "now please get back to your seats and try to behave for at least five minutes."

When he got back to his desk the bells rang signaling the end of the lesson. His shoulders slumped together as the girls flew out and emptied the classroom in five seconds straight. He began to seriously question whether he had made a mistake coming here. Takamichi who entered the classroom interrupted his thinking.

"So, how did the first lesson go?"

"I don't really know, I was ambushed with a trap, they started to fight and when the lesson was over they ran away like they were chased by demons." Negi sighed. "I don't think that's a good sign."

"Don't worry;" Takamichi said, "You'll like them. They might not be the best students around but they are definitely the liveliest."

"Actually that only worries me." Negi closed the door. "I owe you my life so I'll be honest with you. I'm not here because I was assigned to work here. It's a cover."

"Cover for what?" Takamichi got a serious look on his face.

"I'm here to find a way to break the little girl's contract with Malfeas." Negi explained," I came across my father's journal a while ago and I have been researching how to break it ever since."

"That's impossible Negi." Takamichi suddenly looked ten years older. "There is no way to dispel that kind of bonds, and definitely not one made by him. We have looked for a way for ten years and we've come up empty."

"I know you cannot dispel them." Negi said. "You'll have to kill them."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain tomorrow. I'll come over to your apartments by tomorrow evening, but trust me on this, there is a way." Negi gathered his thins and walked out. "I hope you understand I want you to keep quiet about this. Being able to break these kinds of oaths is a power that could be abused too easily to allow anything else than total secrecy." With that he left.


	9. The Cursed Girl

Chapter 8: The Cursed girl

* * *

As he exited the building he decided to explore the campus. Making his way across the courtyard towards a large set of stairs he suddenly saw one of his students, Miyazaki Nodoka, he saw when consulting the book. She was carrying a large pile of books and walked down the stairs. Suddenly she tripped and fell off the side of the stairs. He acted on instinct as he used Shundo to reach her before she hit the ground. He deftly caught her and put her down carefully.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

Before she could answer he heard a gasp, as he looked to the side he saw Asuna staring at him. He cursed inwardly when she grabbed him and dragged him off into a nearby cluster of trees. There she pushed him against one of the trees

"W-what did you do just now?!" She yelled, "How did you move that quickly?!"

"I – I don't know what you are talking about!" Negi desperately tried to find a way out of the situation.

"Liar; I saw you. What are you, a robot? A Ninja?"

"Let me go and I'll explain," Negi slipped his spellcaster ring onto his finger. "It's kind of hard to explain things when I'm pressed against a tree."

Asuna let go of him and he snapped his fingers in front of her eyes invoking an amnesia spell. A purple flash appeared between the fingers and Asuna jumped backwards.

"Now was there anything you wanted to tell me Asuna – san?" Negi acted like nothing had ever happened.

"What do you mean by that?!" Asuna got furious, "I told you to tell me how you moved that fast and what's up with that flash!"

Negi's eyes widened and he snapped his fingers again.

"Stop that!" Asuna slapped away his hands. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"It can't be…" Negi whispered. She was immune to magic! It was her! "Y – you are…" He was interrupted by Takamichi who entered the grove.

"Am I interrupting something? He asked mildly.

"T – Takahata – sensei." Asuna blushed furiously.

"The others were looking for you two. You probably should hurry along." Negi received a mental message from him. _"Don't tell her, she deserve a life without knowing about that curse."_

"Well she just wanted to ask me about the names of different trees in English," Negi lied smoothly. "But perhaps we should get a move on then." He walked off with Asuna trailing behind.

* * *

"Don't think you are getting away that easily!" Asuna yelled when they had left the grove. "What are you?" She insisted.

"I'm a mage." Negi said deciding that even though he couldn't tell her about her curse he should tell her about the supernatural world. She was a part of it whether she knew it or not.

"What?" Asuna stared at him, "You mean as in pointy hats, beards and turning people to frogs?"

"More of less yes." He moved on to the tough part, "but if you tell anyone I'll be in big trouble. Revealing our world is forbidden on pain of death." That was an exaggeration but somehow he believed that the punishment of being turned into an ermine wouldn't impress as much.

"Aren't you already?" Asuna stared at him, "You've told me."

"And if you don't tell anyone no one will ever know that you know and I'll be safe."

"Okay but that's going to cost you." Asuna got a smirk on his face. "You'll have to make me a love potion for Takahata – sensei."

Negi nearly facefaulted. Was she for real? "Sorry that's forbidden."

"What! That's ridiculous."

"No it isn't." Negi took a deep breath, "allow me to clarify. A person has few things in my world that is sacred. His body can be broken, his memories erased, his mind controlled. One of the few things left then is his feelings, his heart; to violate those and force someone into slavery with chains forged out of artificial love is considered a despicable deed. To forever be chained to a person knowing that this isn't right, you don't love this person but your feelings keep you with that person forever is a terror unlike anything else, on the outside you look happy but on the inside some small part of your mind is still lucid and that part is forever screaming in horror at the rape of your soul that you have been subjected to. Do you understand now?" Negi finished and looked at Asuna who seemed to have paled slightly

"Okay, how about a money tree," Asuna blurted out, "I could buy his love."

Now Negi facefaulted. She was for real!

"Do you truly think Takamichi could be bought?" Negi rubbed his temples as he got up. "If so you don't know anything about him."

"Oh yeah? Well how do you know him then Mr. Hotshot?" Asuna said agitatedly as she walked into the school building.

"He was a good friend of my father," "_and he saved my life."_

"Y –you mean Takahata – sensei is a mage too?"

"No he isn't;" Negi technically didn't lie since Takamichi was a rarity in the mages world in that that he couldn't incant spells, he had never known how to do it and was totally powerless. But with the aid of Negi's father's friend Gateau Kagura Vandenberg he had learned how to mix Ki and magic into something called Kanka. That was the second reason Negi admired Takamichi so much; he had overcome a crippling weakness and was now a celebrity in the mages world famous for his martial strength. "But they were friends anyway."

"Well you have to help me somehow." Asuna said," Can you do anything?"

"I can destroy this building in ten seconds." Negi admitted.

"Eh… I was thinking something more subtle." Asuna said as she opened a door. When she had opened Negi saw the entire class standing in the room, they had decorated the classroom and cheered. "Welcome Negi – sensei!" They all yelled as he was pulled into the room. He was seated in a chair at the large table they had placed in the room and they started to pile up food in front of him. Negi dropped all thoughts of what he'd have to do to keep Asuna quiet as he dug in.

* * *

The girls had really put a lot of effort into the welcoming party and excellent food was mixed with entertainment of every imaginable kind. The girl he had saved from falling, Nodoka, came up to him and gave him some coupons to the library.

"I-It's not much, but…." She said nervously. Negi smiled at the girl and accepted them gracefully. She seemed like a very nice and calm girl. During the party Negi had the opportunity to take a good look at his students, they were a diverse bunch to say the least with the thirty one girls in the class ranging from the quiet Nodoka to the loudmouthed Asuna. He looked forward to learning to know more of them.

His eyes turned to Asuna; his mind was still reeling from the discovery that she was the cursed girl. And Takamichi had said, "Don't tell her." did that mean that he had wiped her memory? It did make sense; no one would want to live knowing that they would die at their sixteenth birthday. "_But you won't die Asuna,"_ He thought, "_I won't allow it."_

Asuna noticed he was staring at her and he looked away quickly. The blonde girl, Ayaka Yukihiro her name apparently was, came up to him. "Now Sensei, I heard that you are a graduate from Oxford." She said politely.

"Yes indeed," Negi said looking at her. "And if I may ask; are you by any chance related to the family that owns the Yukihiro Zaibatsu?" The Yukihiro Zaibatsu was one of the great industries that had formed in Japan after the Second World War and now was one of the biggest in Japan.

"I am," She bowed slightly; "I'm the second daughter of the CEO."

"Really?" Negi said. He wondered why she didn't go to one of the fancy private schools that the daughters of wealthy industrialists would usually be sent to. Even though Mahora was a school with good reputation it was still a community school. According to his experiences the wealthy usually considered this kind of schools below their stature. He decided not to ask; she might be insulted. "I am honored," he said simply.

"If it wouldn't be too intrusive, might you tell us how you graduated so early?" Ayaka continued.

"Sure," Negi started to tell the story he had practiced a hundred times before. Having a good cover was necessary for every mage who interacted with the mundane world.

"I was discovered by one of the professors at Oxford when he was doing research on the language capabilities of British teenagers a few years ago. He visited my school and was amazed by my level of skill. I was apparently already on par with many of the university graduates even though I was only thirteen at the time. He offered me a chance to study at Oxford seeing as how all my grades were as high as possible."

"I started to study there when I graduated Junior High and in two years I finished an education that usually takes four to finish. The reason I'm here is actually because I took Japanese lessons for fun while studying and when I had graduated I didn't want to keep on being treated like a kid by the entire academic world. Every other professor was at least fifty years old and incredibly stuffy. They either saw me as a mascot or an irritating brat." Negi smiled dryly, "Then I heard of something called JET, "Japanese Exchange and Teaching." It's an exchange where they trade teachers instead of students. I decided to give it a try, if nothing else to get out of there and thus far I don't regret it." The girls cheered again and mobbed him; one of the girls hugged him from behind.

"Say something smart sensei." She said.

Negi looked at her, "Why?"

"Awww, come on please!" She begged him.

"Feels a little silly but okay." Negi stood up and cleared his throat; he felt the eyes of the girls focusing on him. He took a deep breath and said loudly and clearly.

"Something smart!" Half the class facefaulted while the other started laughing. He looked innocently around as he sat down. "Was that okay?"

Takamichi who had entered the room laughed.

"He's your teacher girls, you should respect him, not paw him."

"Yes Sensei" they all said.

"Not anymore girls, He's your teacher now," Takamichi reminded them, "I'm actually here to say farewell in case we won't see each other again."

"Yeah!" The girls pushed him down into a chair and piled up food in front of him. "Eat Takahata – sensei" A pinkhaired girl said. "This might be your last chance to eat Sat – chan's food." A girl with hair buns added.

Negi noticed in the corner of his eye how Asuna walked out of the room looking on the verge of tears. "Excuse me I need to answer a call of nature." He excused himself and left as well.

* * *

Asuna ran through the building with tears in her eyes, Takahata – sensei was leaving! And she hadn't even told him how she felt, and it was that stupid mage's entire fault. If he hadn't come she would still have him as a teacher. She ran down the stairs towards the exit but halted when she saw Negi standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"You really do love him don't you?" He said softly.

"Leave me alone you stupid freak!" She shouted at him.

"I can't Asuna," he said, "to begin with I'm your teacher and I've also sworn to help you." He bit his tongue and hoped Asuna wouldn't notice his slip.

"How could you possibly help me?" She asked angrily, "By razing the building?"

"You know, my magic isn't absolute," Negi said, "True magic is the result of your heart's courage as my grandfather would say."

"Your grandfather was a dope." Asuna pushed her way past him. Negi sighed but heard how she stopped.

"Okay," she said, "I'll try to be more courageous, but I need you to help me."

"I said I would help you didn't I? What do you need?"

"I need you as my guinea pig." Negi stiffened at those words. "I'll practice confessing on you."

Asuna removed the bells from he hair and let down her hair she walked up to him and looked him straight in the eyes, Negi noticed how pretty she actually was.

"I love you," She said and Negi felt his heart rate spike, he fought to keep an impassive face.

"I love you, sensei, I've loved you for so long. I just hope you're not offended by it." She stammered and turned away, "I know I'm not good enough for you but I, I…" She drew closer to him with a nervous look at her face. Negi swallowed, this was a little more than he had expected. Asuna started to close her eyes and their faces drew closer. "I've waited so long for this moment."

Suddenly Negi's senses picked up someone else in the staircase. He put two fingers on Asuna's lips and said loudly and clearly.

"You really are convincing Asuna – san. I can't see why you shouldn't be able to try acting." Asuna's eyes flew open and she got something angry in her eyes. "They are listening." Negi mouthed and Asuna stared at him blushing brightly. "Now perhaps we should get back to the others." He continued loudly "Let's just hope that they didn't listen in on this. It could give the wrong impression don't you agree?"

"Y-yeah," Asuna stuttered, Negi heard how at least a dozen pair of feet tried to sneak away.

"_Lively class indeed." _Negi thought as they walked back.

* * *

Author's note: JET is a real thing. Go to to read about a man who participated. Though I won't make Negi's life even NEAR what this guy went through. But I really reccomend reading it since it's one of the funniest things I've read. Ever. 


	10. Dreams, Lessons and Plans

**Chapter 9: Dreams, Lessons and Plans**

* * *

After finishing the party Negi was now walking across the campus. He had decided to drop his things off at his new home. When he remembered where he was staying he stopped. Somehow he didn't think that this would work out painlessly but he had understood the dean's purpose with placing him there. That way he could keep a good look at Asuna. Said girl was walking a few dozen meters away from him and he sped up when he noticed her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously when he came up beside her.

"What now?" She asked.

"I just remembered where I'm supposed to live." Negi said.

"Oh great," Asuna grumbled, "Not enough with having to endure during the day now I have to live with you as well."

"Asuna-san please." Negi pleaded, "What have I ever done to you for you to hate me so? It's not like I planned to take over Takamichi's class, I was assigned here and there is nothing I can do to change that."

"Don't give me that Oxford crap!" Asuna yelled, "If you haven't forgotten you've already told me the truth."

"I'm not talking about Oxford." Negi decided to tell her about the diploma. "When you graduate from the mage's school you get a diploma with a location where you are supposed to work for a certain amount of time."

"Can't you just ask for something else and get out of my life?!"

"No, if I don't do this I will never be allowed to reach the rank of Magister Magi, a master mage. My entire career and more hangs on how well I perform my duty here. _And if I screw up you will burn in the nether realms for all eternity."_

"So what if you don't get a stupid title?" Asuna said, "Isn't power the most important thing?"

"I'm a mage Asuna – san, not an ogre. The goal of the mages is to aid the world. If you want an example look at some of the NGO's of the United Nations, they are run and aided by mages."

"Then what good is being able to destroy a house if you all do charity work?"

"There are good and bad mages Asuna – san. Magic can be addictive and there are people who only care for the feeling of magic running through their veins. They offer their souls and their humanity to ancient destructive beings to gain more power than that they were born with. They perform every atrocity you can imagine and I learned to fight and use combat magic in order to stop that kind of people and to be able to protect those who need it."

"So you are supposed to be some kind of a magical samurai."

"I suppose you could say that."

"Okay fine, it's not like I can do anything about it anyway." She walked off towards the dormitories.

"By the way," She said after a while, "Thank you for not letting me make a fool out of myself earlier today, I wasn't really going to kiss you, I was just going to pretend."

"Don't worry, it's all in the past." Negi said. He only wished he could convince himself to stop wishing it would happen again.

"I'm home," Asuna yelled as she opened the door and walked into her room. Inside it Konoka was sitting by the low table studying. When she saw them she shone up.

"Oh I see you let Negi-sensei in; I thought you would throw him out if he got near our room."

"Bah it's not like he has anywhere else to sleep," Asuna said, "What was I going to do? Let him sleep outside?"

"But Asuna, just because Takahata-sensei doesn't teach us anymore you don't need to go after our new sensei." Konoka teased making Asuna facefault. A loud argument broke out with Asuna vehemently denying that she had any such interest in him and Konoka continuing to make jokes about her and Negi who just leaned back in the sofa and closed his eyes. Nearly two days without sleep was catching up with him and he dozed off. He was awakened by Konoka who smiled sweetly at him.

"I think you should get ready for bed if you want to sleep. It's not a good idea to sleep with the clothes on." She said. Negi shook his head to clear it and apologized.

"Its okay sensei," the black haired girl said, "It's always hard on the first day."

"Please Konoka-san," Negi said, "Call me Negi-kun when we're not in class, I'm only seventeen and being called sensei makes me fell like an old man." He smiled at Konoka. "And I know you might consider seventeen old but I don't."

"Okay Negi-kun," Konoka smiled, now let's get you ready for bed." she said and pulled him off the sofa.

"I see you've gotten close pretty quickly," Asuna remarked dryly. "Perhaps I should start signing about Negi and Konoka in a tree?" Konoka blushed slightly but kept her smile.

"Is there a shower here?" Negi butted in, "I haven't showered since I left Wales and I think I should get one."

"Yes it's in the bathroom," Asuna said, "And you stay here Konoka." She continued obviously enjoying having the upper hand. "I don't think the dean wants to have great-grandkids already."

"Sorry Asuna-san but if she can't go you shouldn't either." Negi decided to even the score, "And no peeking, that goes for both of you." He picked up a towel and a pajama and entered the bathroom.

* * *

As he showered he absently traced the scars across his body with his fingers, there were twenty-three of them all in all. One from the demon lord. Four on his right shoulder from Kotaro's claws during one of their fights. One from a stabbing wound in the back from a dark wizard he had fought during his mercenary time. One along his right arm from the God's Cry swordswoman Tsuruko Aoyama that he had had the misfortune to face when he and Kotaro had been hired by a group of extremists in the Kansai mages association. He had been defeated in the matter of seconds. Eleven from the demons of Aokigahara, three on the right leg, five on various parts of the chest, one across the back and two on the left arm. And three on the stomach from _him. _

He shook his head and focused on cleaning himself up. He got out of the shower, dried himself, brushed his teeth and put on the pajama. He had decided to try to keep the scars covered; they would raise too many questions. He had toyed with the idea of hiding them with illusions but discarded it, it would take too much power to keep it up and it wasn't like he planned to be bare-chested around his students.

He walked out and saw that Konoka had prepared the sofa for him. She was sitting at the table reading a book. He noticed that Asuna had already gone to bed. He looked over Konoka's shoulder to see what she was reading. Apparently it was a book on tarot. She seemed totally absorbed by it. Negi smiled slightly as he remembered that Anya had worked as a fortuneteller for five years. Tarot was a powerful tool but you needed magic to have any use for them. Otherwise it was just cards with fancy paintings on. He decided to leave her to the reading and went to sleep.

* * *

He dreamed that he ran through the hallway again with the demons hounding him. He yet again tried to escape through the door and came face to face with the giant demon. But this time the monstrous being grabbed him and held up a hand wreathed in darkness, the darkness started to crawl into its palm and formed an orb of pure emptiness. The demon howled as it forced it into his throat. Negi felt a sick, oily feeling as the emptiness crawled down his throat. He tried to vomit but couldn't. He felt it spreading into his lungs, his gut, his heart and his soul. The demon dropped him and he fell over, writhing in pain as the tainted emptiness devoured him. His world exploded in pain and he screamed. He suddenly felt something shaking him, his eyes flew open and he sat up, drenched in cold sweat.

"What's the matter with you?" Asuna asked. Negi looked around trembling; it was still dark outside, the clock showed four in the morning. He panted desperately as he tried to force his mouth to speak.

"It… it was just a dream." He whispered, "Just a dream… It wasn't real, I'm still me…" Negi leaned forward and grabbed his head between his hands as he rested the elbows on his knees. "Just a dream." He repeated. "Just a dream."

"Are you okay?" Asuna looked at him with a concerned look in her eyes. She put her hand on Negi's shoulder.

"I'm fine," He said trying to convince himself as much as he tried to convince Asuna. He got up from the sofa and staggered to the bathroom. There he washed his face with cold water and tried to wash the sour taste of nightmare out of his mouth. He realized it would be futile to try to get anymore sleep and decided to do some exercises instead. Perhaps he could get rid of the feeling that something was crawling through his body if he focused on something else. He walked out and put on his training clothes. He noticed that Asuna had left the room. Did she train too? He got out and looked around for a good spot where he wouldn't be seen. After a while he chose the cluster of trees Asuna had pulled him into the previous day.

Inside it he started with an hour of meditation. But his mind was still in chaos from the horrible dream and try as he might he couldn't reach the silent and serene place inside his mind that he had found during his training with the Heaven's Wing. When the hour was over he gave up and decided to do the Kata instead, He started moving in the patterns that had become a part of him after countless hours of practicing them. The quick powerful motions calmed him. He felt peace doing the movements, he was proud over his perfect body control. Deciding to challenge himself he leapt up on a branch and did the Kata there instead. His body felt weightless as he danced across the branch, he increased the speed and moved in a blur of motion. When he reached the finishing move he turned to the tree and threw the punch into the tree. When the fist connected with the tree the latter shattered like a missile had hit it. Negi froze, had he misjudged his power that much? The young man stood silently in the grove and stared at the tree. It was impossible! He hadn't activated the Cantus Bellax, the tree should at most have shaken!

He suddenly heard the bells in the Clock tower ring seven times. He had an hour before school began. He leapt down from the branches and ran to his room, when he came in Konoka had just gotten out of bed.

"Good morning Negi – kun." She said with her trademark sweet smile. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes please," Negi grabbed a towel and his suit and leapt into the shower. He was drenched in sweat both from the exercises and the dream and if he would let it remain he would smell horrible in class and knowing what he had learned thus far they wouldn't let him get away with it. After the shower he got out of the bathroom and was greeted by the sight of breakfast. He sat down by the table where Asuna and Konoka already were seated. The food was excellent and he complimented Konoka on it saying that it was delicious; she blushed at the remark but kept her smile.

"By the way Asuna.san." He said after a while." Where did you go earlier?"

"I run paper deliveries." She said.

"Isn't that pretty tough to balance with school?" Negi asked, it might explain her bad grades. If she had to get up at four in the morning and run around it would take a lot of energy that could be devoted to school.

"A little but I need to pay for myself." She shrugged. "My parents are dead and I don't want to be a charity case."

Negi suddenly got a whole lot more respect for Asuna. At first she had seemed like a violent bully but she was in reality a self reliant and strong girl who refused to be a burden and at the same time a shy person who was deathly afraid of revealing her heart to anyone as her crush on Takamichi had revealed. Negi admonished himself for what he had said to Shizuna about Asuna having issues. As they headed to school he felt that things might work out well after all.

During the lesson they were working on proper use of the word "very". Negi was reading the English sentences and the students translated them. It was the most boring thing he had ever done. Not even meditation had been this insufferable when he had started practicing it.

"The car is very black Sakurako-san." He said while asking himself _how_ exactly something could be very black.

Sakurako translated as well as she could but the fact that she yawned told Negi that he had to do something before they all fell asleep.

"This exercise is very boring Ayaka-san." He decided to spice up the sentences a little. The class rep started but stopped when she realized what he said. "Aren't you going to translate Ayaka-san?" Negi asked. She hesitated before translating it flawlessly. Spread snickers came from the class.

"The creator of this book is a very boring person Hakase-san." Negi continued. This time the class laughed slightly.

"The creator should be shot for making very boring books Chao-san." He chose the brilliant Chinese girl this time to ensure that everything was translated. She did so and the class was now laughing out loud. He could with good consciousness leave the exercise and go on to the written test.

* * *

Shizuna had told him that there were some girls who needed extra help with the English. One of these were Asuna, the four others were Yue Ayase; a girl Negi had pegged for intelligent, Kaede Nagase; a long, well developed girl from the Kouga prefecture, Ku Fei; a Chinese exchange student and finally Makie Sasaki; a pink-haired carefree girl. They were having extra lessons after school.

As he came back from the teachers' offices for the after school lessons he was greeted by a loud cheer from all the girls except Asuna

"Welcome to the Mighty Morphing Baka Rangers!" They all yelled. Negi remembered the TV – show Mahou rangers; a show about five High School students with magical powers who fought evil. The resemblance was in a way uncanny and Negi couldn't help but to laugh. Asuna, who already was furious over being referred to as a baka, was only further incensed by this and nearly jumped him. Negi managed to regain his composure and handed out the tests. It was a pop quiz; in order to pass they had to score six out of ten questions right. Yue finished after only thirty seconds and handed it in. He realized his first impression of her had been correct as she had gotten nine of the questions right and the tenth had a small error that came from a misunderstanding rather that lack of knowledge. Her two friends, Nodoka and a girl named Haruna had remained behind and when they left the latter said that Yue should be able to get even better if she put some effort into it. "I hate studying," was Yue's monotonous answer. Negi flinched when he heard that, she would be a tough nut to crack.

As the three left the classroom Kaede, Makie and Ku Fei turned their papers in too. None of them were even close to scoring six. Negi looked at Asuna to see if she was finished, when she saw that he was looking at him she started scribbling furiously. When she turned in Negi swallowed, her score was even worse than the others'. After a while the other girls managed to pass. Negi realized it wasn't the question of stupidity; Makie was too devoted to her rythmic gymnastics and didn't have time for homework. Ku Fei had problems enough with even the Japanese that her speech became a pidgin variant of it. Since she was Chinese she had to translate between two foreign languages, which was a hard thing even for him. Kaede was dyslectic and simply couldn't write the right letters. When they walked out Negi pondered on how he could help them improve their grades. But when Asuna turned in the second paper Negi felt how he nearly gave up. Her score had worsened, not improved! He gritted his teeth and continued but no matter how many times she did the tests she simply couldn't get past even three correct answers.

As the sun was setting Takamichi came by. "Hello Negi-kun." He said, "Are you coming over this evening?" He asked.

"I said I would, didn't I?" Negi countered.

"I'll be waiting then." He turned to Asuna, "I should have known it would be you who would force him to remain here after school," He joked "Shame on you for making him go through this Asuna-kun."

"_Yep, he doesn't know about her crush." _Negi thought as Takamichi left. Asuna stood still in front of the desk. Suddenly she ran out of the classroom. Negi decided to give up for today and follow her. She was really fast and Negi had to use magic to keep up.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled as she ran, "Takahata-sensei hates me because of you!"

After fifteen minutes of running at full speed she stopped and Negi caught up with her.

"I'm sorry Asuna-san," He said, "I didn't mean for it to go like this. I wanted to help you."

"Who are you trying to prove yourself to?" She asked after a while. "Yourself?"

"More like the entire world." Negi said after a few seconds of thinking. "It's because of my father." He sat down on the grass and motioned for Asuna to sit down beside him.

"My father was known as the "Thousand Master", he was said to know a thousand spells and he was the greatest mage the world had known in a thousand years. He traveled around the world and preformed countless heroics of all kind. At my age he had already saved the world perhaps ten times over. There are only two ways for me to get out of his shadow. Either I'll have to turn to evil and be remembered as a traitor to the legacy of the greatest man ever or I'll have to surpass him. I need to accomplish this because if I don't I'll forever be remembered as only his son. That's the first reason. The other is that he disappeared fourteen years ago, I don't know where he is and it is my dream to find him. And if I manage to do it I want him to be proud of me."

Asuna listened to him. When he had finished she looked at him. "Okay, okay." She got up, "I'll continue studying. I'm not going to have a guilty conscience over preventing you from finding your father."

Negi was startled; he didn't mean it that way. But as Asuna reached out her hand to help him up he smiled. She got her spirit back that was all that mattered at the time. She pulled him up and he ended up close to her face. Something happened within him when he looked into her eyes. He felt a craving welling up within him. He stepped away and apologized as he shook his head trying to clear it.

When they got back to the apartment Asuna sat down and did the quizzes over again. She gave them to him with a confident look on her face. Negi smiled as he saw that three, that was her best on the previous tests, now was her worst, she still didn't squeeze past the six required but it was still a huge improvement.

* * *

When he had eaten dinner he left the apartment and went over to Takamichi's place, a house on the outskirts of Mahora in the district where many of the teachers lived. He remembered where it lay from the time Takamichi had rescued him from the demons. That time he had only been there for a short while before being taken to Albreido since Takamichi didn't want to risk the demons following him there. As he knocked upon the door he wondered what Asuna had been doing then. She should have been in second grade. Takamichi opened the door and let him in.

"Welcome Negi-kun," he said, "You want something to eat?"

"I've already eaten but if you don't mind I'd like something to drink, this will be a long story."

"I'll make some tea then." Takamichi disappeared into the kitchen.

"_He isn't especially anxious to hear what I have to say"_ Negi noted, _"He's probably given up on saving her."_

Takamichi came back with the tea and they sat down at the table.

"Now what have you come up with?" he asked after having poured up the tea.

"I found some old writings by Merlin," Negi took out his notes; he had rewritten them and structured them so they would be understandable. He spread them out on the table and started to explain. It took several hours to go through it all but eventually Negi finished.

"It won't be easy I know, and there are still pieces missing but we know what to do and I have a good idea on what the remaining pieces will be."

"If this is true…" Takamichi hesitated; "I didn't dare to hope for it but it looks like it would work." his normally stoic face was openly showing his feelings.

"Now; can I count on you to help me?" Negi asked.

"You can." was all he said.

"Good, seeing as how you don't teach anymore you have a freedom to act that I don't." Negi pointed at one of the notes. "The starsilver shard is the first thing we need. I have been doing some research and I believe that our best bet is Hawaii, in the ruins of Makarek. Feel like going there?"

"I will take care of it." Takamichi said. After a short silence he added. "I've been looking forward to this day Negi-kun."

"I thought you said you didn't have any hope it would happen."

"I meant the day when we would work together," He put out his cigarette, "I never was a true companion of your father, I was more of a tagalong. I was too young to be of any real help, but now his son, who will be just as great as him one day, has need of me and this time I can really help." He smiled at Negi. "It's an honor to work with you."

"The honor is mine Takamichi." Negi said, "You and my father are the people I respect most of all in this world."

"You give me too much credit," Takamichi looked out through the window. "I'm no hero like your father."

Negi leaned over the table and punched him lightly in the forehead. "How long are you going to blame yourself for that?" He asked, "It wasn't your fault."

"If I hadn't been arrogant enough to believe I could challenge that demon he wouldn't have had to die for me, I am responsible."

"So?" Negi asked, "Are you planning to mope around your entire life? I lost Kotaro because I decided to go into Aokigahara. If I hadn't chosen to chase rumors he would still be alive. But I'm not going to blame myself for it. He made his choice and he would have done it again."

"Kotaro's dead?" Takamichi looked up at him.

"Of course;" Negi realized, "you couldn't know. Yes, we were chased by demons and he knocked me down and told me to hide my scent while he lured them away. He died in that hell and I couldn't even bury him."

"I'm sorry." Takamichi said, "He was a good boy."

"That's not the point, the point is that you shouldn't be blaming yourself. You are responsible for your choices, true, but so were they. Gateau made that choice of his own free will and he chose to do it because he loved you like a son. Are you saying you feel regret over the fact that he loved you?"

"You don't understand…"

"I understand perfectly," Negi interrupted, "Kotaro was all I had during that time. He was my brother in all but blood. But do you know what I would accomplish if I let his death make me hate myself? He would crawl back into the living world and punch me in the face."

"It's not that. I robbed the world of a hero."

"And you are trying to make me believe you haven't replaced him? You are famous all over the world. There are girls who have you as a freaking poster on their walls! You are a hero Takamichi, live with it." Negi scribbled down a number on a piece of paper. "Here's my cell phone number, give me a call when you have obtained the component." He left Takamichi's house and walked home.


	11. Dodgeball

**Chapter 10: Dodgeball

* * *

**

Nearly three weeks had passed and Negi had adapted to his new role well. The girls had instantly taken a liking to him and he had grown fond of them too. By being around then he gained a light-hearted feeling and could relax in a way he hadn't been able to before.

One day Ako and Makie rushed in to the teachers' office and begged him to come with them. They had been playing ball in the courtyard when a group of older girls had shown up and started to harass them. Negi got up and followed the outside.

He got out just in time to see Akira get hit by a volleyball thrown at high speed. The girls in question were High School students judging from their uniforms. The girls were shoving his students off the court when he walked out on the field and screamed.

"Stop this right now!"

The High-schoolers turned around and looked at him. Negi walked up to them and stopped in front of them. "I don't know what reason you have for bullying my students but you will stop that now!"

The girls started to whisper among themselves. Their leader stared at him. "Wow," she finally said, "I heard about a teenage teacher but I didn't think he would be that hot." She leaned in. "What do you say we get rid of the babies and you can hang with some real girls?"

Negi gritted his teeth; this was the straw that broke the camel's back. He fired off his most charming smile at her and leaned in too. "You know?" He said softly, "That's a pretty good idea. That is; if you forget the fact that one: I'm a teacher and you are a student. Two: I'm their" He pointed at his class "teacher and you are currently harassing them. And finally three: I don't like you. So if you please would leave the field I would be very grateful."

The girl stared at him and suddenly she tried to slap him. Negi caught her hand and twisted it, forcing her to her knees.

"Don't." He said calmly, "I'm still a teacher miss. Attacking me is not a good idea unless you want the disciplinary committee to take some serious action against you. Now leave the field!" He added sharply.

The Highschoolers scampered off and Negi turned to Akira.

"Are you okay Akira-san?" He helped her get up.

"I think so." She held her arm. "Yeah, I'll recover."

"That was so cool sensei," Ako said, "You sure showed them."

Negi smiled and ruffled her hair. "Hey, no one touches my girls Ako-san."

Ako blushed slightly as Takamichi came out on the field.

"Not bad Negi-kun," He said. "It seems like things are working out for you. Have you been nice to him girls?"

"Yeah!" Makie hugged him from behind, "He's the best!"

"Good to hear it." Takamichi smiled, "Now would you let me borrow him for a while."

"Sure," Makie let go of him. Takamichi took Negi to the outskirts of the field.

"You know," He said, "It's not a good idea to lower yourself to their level. I'm sure you had a good reason but to insult them back won't accomplish anything, especially since you are a teacher."

"Yes I know," Negi admitted, "I just became so angry when they started flirting with me and said that I should dump the "babies" to be with them instead."

"You can't blame them for trying." Takamichi took out a cigarette and lit it, "You have become a quite handsome guy Negi-kun and in all honesty you only need to keep a professional relationship with your own students."

"Don't tell me that you want me to date them." Negi looked incredulously at him.

"Let me be honest with you Negi." Takamichi took deep puff of his cigarette. "You have devoted both time and energy to your class and the energy you invest in that is nothing compared to what you devote to breaking Asuna's curse. But tell me something; when were the last time you went out to have fun? From what I've heard you do nothing but work. It isn't healthy Negi. You'll end up wearing yourself out. We still have over a year before it's too late. Make use of that time, enjoy life."

"What brought this up?" Negi asked after a while.

"Consider it my repayment for what you said a few weeks ago. The point is that too much devotion will only harm you in the end. I've seen students who gave everything and burned themselves out and could never totally recover. I think that you at least should get familiar with the other mages of the academy. Ask Professor Seruhiko to introduce you to them."

"Maybe you are right." Negi admitted.

"And before I forget." Takamichi took out a small package. "Be careful with it, It wasn't easy to obtain." He handed him the package. "What's the next item?"

"The tome of Melchizedek. I need it to refine the silver shard. It will be necessary later too.

"It wouldn't do with any other book? One of the most powerful books in the world won't be easy to find."

"It's about five kilometers away Takamichi." Negi said dryly. "Below Library Island in the catacombs. I'll take that one and you can focus on the third item: a vial of Moon Water."

* * *

Later that day his class had P.E. and were scheduled to play volleyball on the roof court. Negi had agreed to fill in for the gym teacher who had fallen ill. When he walked up to the roof where they would play he saw the High School girls from earlier that day. Apparently they were using their free time playing ball on the court. Not wanting to have to deal with them and their clumsy attempts at seduction he used Shundo to leap into a tree next to the building. He decided to wait there for the time being and leap onto the roof when his students came. He could claim to have hidden behind the ventilation drum.

When his students came out on the roof the High schoolers predictably began to harass them again. He was on the way to leap back onto the roof when he saw two figures who didn't back down. It was Asuna and Ayaka. They claimed the girls were all talk and no walk and that they wouldn't let them chase away them from their scheduled time. The High schoolers challenged them to a match where the losers would have to leave. Negi decided to hold back and see if they could solve the matter themselves. The first suggestion was Volleyball but Asuna refused saying that they would be at a disadvantage since the High schoolers were bigger than them. _"Good thinking Asuna-san."_ Negi thought.

The High schoolers then suggested dodgeball and said that they could have more players on the field to compensate for being younger. To Negi's disappointment they accepted not realizing the trap until it was too late. When they realized that having more players on the field would only make it easier to be hit they had already lost seven players of the twenty-one they had begun with. The High schoolers chose that moment to reveal that they were the Kanto region masters of dodgeball. This revelation finally broke his students' spirits and guaranteed their loss. Negi was about to intervene when Asuna shouted that they couldn't lose this. She yelled that if they only were brave they could perform true magic. _"Hey, that's my line." _Negi thought amusedly as he saw the girls getting their spirit back. And when Nodoka managed to get the High schoolers to give up the ball for breaking the five-second rule Negi was near laughing.

The following part of the match could only be described as an incredible display of, teamwork, improvisation and true fighting spirit from the junior high girls. They eventually won with three players left on the field. The High School leader became furious over their loss and when Asuna turned her back to them she threw the ball as hard as she could at her hoping to give her a concussion. Negi had finally had enough and with Shundo he got onto the roof. When the ball was only three feet from Asuna Negi materialized out of thin air and grabbed the ball in one hand.

"That…" He whispered, "Wasn't… very… nice." He was trembling with fury, how dared those bitches do this to his girls?! How dared they trick them like that?! How dared that try to hurt them?! He started walking towards them letting his magic to fill the air and permeate it with his wrath.

"They come here to have their scheduled lesson," The girls had started to back away; "You refuse to give them the field even they have all the right to be here. They even agree to give you a chance to keep it even though they have no reason to do so." He held the ball between two hands now. "You trick them into taking a sport where they will be at a disadvantage." The girls' backs had hit the wall now. "And when they still manage to win." He started squeezing the ball. "You try to harm the girl that gave them spirit!" The ball exploded between his hands. He dropped the remains and grabbed the leader's clothes. "You get out of here now!" He hissed, "And if you ever try anything like this again I'll personally make sure none of you ever leave this school alive!" The girl was paralyzed with dread; tears of fear were streaming down her cheeks. He dropped her and the girls ran away in panic. Negi turned around and looked at his students.

"Can't I leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble?" He asked with a laugh, pulling back the magic as fast as he could.

"Hey weren't you supposed to be here a long time ago?!" Asuna countered. "It's your fault; if you would have gotten here earlier we wouldn't have gotten into this mess."

"You are completely right Asuna-san:" He said smiling, "But you obviously managed pretty well, no scratch that, you managed extremely well." He looked at the girls, "Do you have any idea of how proud I am over having you as my students right now?" He asked. "That match, well it was magical. You were incredible, all of you. I'm proud over you." The girls looked at him for a moment and then they mobbed him and threw him into the air.

"We won, we won!" They chanted and Negi managed to get them to put him down.

"Let's call it a day now ladies." He said, "You've hade enough for today." The girls left the roof and Negi sunk down on his knees staring at his hands. _"What is wrong with me?" _He thought as he felt himself trembling. He had been near killing the High schoolers! He had prevented himself from doing that but he had still ensured that they would have nightmares for months. He hadn't been able to control himself. _"It wasn't just a dream!" _The realization shook him to the core. _"It was him!" _He felt his stomach lurch and he threw up.


	12. The gods cry on the wings of heaven

**Chapter 11 The gods cry on the wings of heaven**

* * *

After the dodgeball incident Negi had to spend the entire evening finding the High School girls and wipe their memory of it to ensure that they would be able to sleep tonight. When he came home Asuna and Konoka had already gone to bed. He sat down on his futon and went into deep meditation. It was one of the last things he had learned from the Heaven's Wing, the art of leaving your body and to enter it again from the outside to be able to walk the halls of your mind and soul. He felt how he left his body and dived deep below the surface of his mind. He could perceive his entire life here, from his earliest memories to things that happened only a few seconds ago. 

He dived deeper towards the soul and then he felt it: A thick oily stench that permeated everything. It came from his soul. The last time he had been here he remembered seeing his soul like a radiant sun. Now a thick, viscous substance that was so black it seemed to suck you inside it covered the sun. He dived towards it and started to tear at it. He dug his hands into it and tried desperately to free his soul. But the slime reached out for him, trying to pull him into it and he had to flee. He snapped back into consciousness and sighed, it was futile. He had no hope of cleansing himself of it.

He walked over to the fridge where he took out a pack of orange juice. Pouring a glass of it he tried to desperately find a way to deal with it. Sitting down at the table he thought, he went through every possibility he could come up with. Suddenly he got an idea. He realized that there might be a way to prevent it from doing any more damage. _"Thank god it's Saturday tomorrow." _He went to bed daring to hope it might work out in the end.

As the sun rose again Negi was sitting in meditation. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep before he awoke from another nightmare. He was now sitting on the roof having attempted to reach tranquility for three hours. It had been impossible. This only further convinced him that he had to go through with his plan. He jumped down from the roof and went inside to pack. Asuna had risen and was currently getting ready for her paper runs.

"You know," She said as he entered. "Usually I'm the early riser but with you moving in here I'm starting to feel like I've overslept when I see you running around when I wake."

"I have to leave for the weekend; there are a few things I must deal with." Negi said. "Can you tell Konoka?"

"Sure, where are you going?"

"Kyoto." Negi decided to tell her that at least. "I got to visit some old friends." He started going through his things.

"It's about yesterday isn't it?" Asuna asked. Negi froze. "I could hardly believe that was you, the air around you was so filled with hate that I hardly dared to look at you. What has happened?"

"I can't tell you that Asuna-san." Negi said silently. "It's best if you don't get involved."

Asuna grabbed him and turned him to face her. "You nearly gave us a heart attack yesterday with that display of yours. You owe me an explanation at least."

Negi didn't hear her as he felt his heart starting to pound and the craving came back. He started to breathe faster as he looked at her. He suddenly wanted her. More than anything else he wanted to grab her and take her right there. Suddenly Asuna let go of him and backed away.

"Don't look at me like that." She said. Negi snapped back to reality and clenched his fists. He looked away and leaned against the wall.

"I can't tell you. I just can't." He whispered miserably. "Just let me go to Kyoto and hopefully I can come back as the same I was before."

Asuna left the apartment without another word. Negi remained still for a few minutes before he continued packing.

* * *

When he arrived at the Kyoto central station it was noon. He had jumped onboard the first train desperate to get to his destination as quickly as possible. When he left the station he took a taxi to the outskirts of the city and got out of it at the forest's edge by the foot of the mountain. He waited unto the car had disappeared before he flew off with full speed towards his goal. The village of the God's Cry school. After ten minutes he came to a small mountain road that led up to the village where Japan's greatest exorcists lived. Near the edge of the village the road went through a clearing. Negi walked out into the middle of it and stood still. He felt at least a dozen pair of eyes watching him. After several minutes a voice rang out. 

"Proceed."

Negi continued onwards and entered the village. It was a small, seemingly ordinary village. The houses were built in classic Japanese style and looked like they had been brought in from an old Samurai movie. His steps took him to the temple in the middle of the village. It was a large building with high walls around it. From the inside he could hear the sounds of battle. Apparently the village had been doing well since absorbing the Heaven's Wing. He walked into the temple courtyard where at least ten pairs of young girls and boys were dueling. To a normal man the sight would have been unbelievable. The children, many of them not even teenagers, were executing elaborate attacks and defenses that only the best normal swordsmen could accomplish. In the middle a muscular man with a short beard and a scar over his left eye was shouting out instructions to the kids.

When Negi stepped out on the field the man shouted a command and the children stopped fighting, bowed to each other and sat down on the ground in a line. The man bowed slightly to his students who answered the bow and then left. The scarred man turned to Negi.

"I'm surprised to see you here Negi-bozu." He said, "I thought you were searching for your father and wouldn't stop until you had found him."

"It's good to see you too Takahashi-sensei." Negi bowed. "And I'm still looking; I'm here because I need your help."

"Really," the samurai seemed amused. "You mean that there is a problem that the great Negi Springfield cannot solve on his own? The sky must have fallen down yesterday." He looked at the sky. "Seems to be intact but you never know. Let's go get something to drink so I can harass you without a dry throat."

Negi smiled as he remembered his sensei's blunt attitude. His entire life had been devoted to fighting against the demons of Aokigahara and he had never bothered to learn how to be polite. The two of them walked into one of the buildings and ended up in the kitchen where Katsu opened the cupboard and took out two bottles of sake. "Here," He said as he tossed the bottle to Negi, "Drink."

Negi opened the bottle and sipped carefully. "You still drink like a baby I see," Katsu took a deep swig of the bottle, "I'd had hoped that you would have grown a pair in your travels. Now what is so important that you have to leave your high throne and come to speak to someone as unworthy as me?"

"I've been tainted." Negi said simply. "It has spread at an unbelievable speed and I have already nearly lost control three times."

Kastu blinked and put away the bottle. "How?" He said, the sour attitude gone and replaced with a cold and professional one.

"I don't know," Negi lied.

"In what situations did you nearly lose control?"

"Twice it was when a girl grabbed me; I nearly raped her both times. The third was when my students were harassed and the ones responsible tried to harm the same girl that had grabbed me." Negi elaborated. He had already noticed the connection. "I've tried to remove it by deep meditation but I failed and was nearly devoured by the taint."

"For how long has this been going on?"

"It was three weeks ago that I noticed the first signs that something was wrong. I was doing my morning exercises and shattered a tree with the finishing punch of the Red Moon Kata, without any enhancing spells I might add."

"I'm glad you came to see us kid." Katsu said quietly. "That is one of the few things that ensures me that we can still trust you. But I can't do anything for you."

Negi felt a cold hand grip his heart. Had he failed? Had his gamble doomed him to death?

"You'll have to talk with the Aoyama sisters. Only they might be able to do it."

"Okay," Negi remembered the warrior woman who had defeated him and Kotaro in a few seconds. Now he would seek help from her? Ironic to say the least.

"Let me introduce you to them, they are training at the moment." Katsu walked out of the kitchen. "And leave the sake, they don't like drinking."

Negi put away the bottle and followed him. "They believe in the "purity of body" idea?"

"No they can't hold their sake. One bottle is enough to get them both unconscious." Katsu laughed and Negi couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Katsu took him to the cliffs that lay on the edge of the village. He pointed down at the waterfall that fell down it. At the bottom of it he saw two figures. They were dancing around at an incredible speed raining down blows on each other. The sight mesmerized Negi. They were incredible! Their elaborate attacks were just as deadly as those of the warrior that had sent him and Kotaro flying four years ago. "Get down there and explain the matter to them." Katsu said. "They will know what to do."

Negi jumped down the cliff and with aid of his magic he landed safely. He started to run towards them with the aid on Shundo.

"That is, unless they kill you for disrupting their training." Katsu smirked "Show me how far you have come Bozu."

* * *

When Negi leaped out of the woods and landed on the edge of the river near the waterfall the two samurai were currently standing on the edge of the water exchanging blows at a dizzying speed. 

"Excuse me!" He shouted. "Are you the Aoyama sisters?"

The two figures leapt up on a pair of rocks in the water and stood still. Negi suddenly felt a massive surge of ki and they both disappeared. The two women reappeared behind him with their swords flying towards him. He acted on instinct as he jumped into the air and activated the Cantus Bellax. The women both followed him into the air. Negi forced himself to remain calm and at the very last moment he used mid-air Shundo to reach the ground. He landed with his eyes fixed on them. He realized he had to go all out and pulled out Albreido's paring gift.

_Flashback: _

_Negi was busy packing his things, in only a few hours he would be able to leave this place and continue the search for his father. He was stuffing his clothes into the bag when Albreido came in. _

"_Easy kid," He smiled, "You won't be able to leave for another six hours."_

"_Well I want to be prepared." Negi said without looking up from his packing._

"_Ah yes." Albreido mused, "Prepared; have you brought protection then?" The comment made Negi jump. _

"_M-Master!" He stammered. "I-I'm only twelve."_

"_So? Your father was popular with the girls at your age and I can't see why you shouldn't be that too."_

"_Master!" Negi repeated._

_The man chuckled at the boy's embarrassment and continued. _

"_Well then, if you aren't going to be with girls how were you planning to get a partner?"_

_Negi was now blushing furiously. He was so caught up in being embarrassed that he didn't notice Chamo drawing an elaborate circle around him. When he was finished he gave Albreido thumbs up._

"_Well then," Albreido said finally, "If you refuse to hit on girls we'll just have to do it this way." He leaned in and kissed Negi on the mouth. _

"_Pactio!" Chamo yelled as the bond was formed and a card appeared. Albreido grabbed it as Negi fell backwards staring on the man with stunned look on his face. _

"_Wh-wh-what are you doing?!" Negi croaked._

"_Well you'll need all the help you can get if you are going to hunt after Nagi and an artifact is always good to have." He looked at the card. "Let's see, oh my! A crimson artifact, nice going kid, you got one of the most powerful classes of artifact here."_

_End Flashback_

Negi thanked Albreido for tricking him like that as he summoned the artifact.

"Adeat!" He shouted and a smooth black quarterstaff appeared in his hand. The two women landed on either side of him and lashed out again, one from above and the other from below. Negi twisted the staff and the swords collided with the ends of the staff. He spun the staff around and unleashed a flurry of strikes against them. They both dodged the attacks and now a furious battle began. Negi used the staff and unincanted spells in combination with acrobatic leaps and kicks to keep the two women off him. But no matter how much he tried to he simply couldn't find an opening. If he had gone one on one with them he might very well have won but as it was now he had virtually no chance. He decided to play his last card. He used a technique he had developed with Kotaro and created an afterimage of him standing on the ground as he leapt into the air, suppressing his magic as much as he could to escape notice. As he flew through the air he started to chant as quickly as he could.

"Ras Tel Mascir Magister, Come wind spirit's that hurl thunder, O thunder blow with the southern storm! Jupiter's storm of thunder!"He unleashed the most powerful thunder spell he knew and a giant twisting lance of thunder erupted from his hand and shot towards the ground. As it closed in on them he heard two voices cry out in perfect unison.

"Shin Raikouken!" Two giant explosions crashed against the thunderbolt and made it explode before hitting the ground. The entire area was drenched in a blinding white light and Negi was stunned by the shockwave that had been reflected towards him by the explosion. He fell towards the ground being unable to move but right before he hit the ground someone caught him. He looked at his savior and saw that it was one of the two women.

"I apologize for that." She said when she had put him down. "Me and aneue tend to get a little too eager when we train, but you seemed to hold your own pretty good. Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Motoko Aoyama."

Negi bowed slightly. "Negi Springfield, it's an honor to meet you."

"Negi Springfield…" The woman had a thoughtful look on her face. "I believe I have heard that name before."

"That would probably be my father Nagi Springfield, the Thousand Master."

"No I'm certain that it was Negi…" Suddenly she looked up. "I know, you are the Heaven's Wing warrior who brought word of your existence to us."

"Motoko-han." A voice came from behind them. "Did you catch him?"

"Yes aneue," Motoko replied, "And guess who it is."

"Who." The other woman came into the clearing. Negi recognized her in an instant. It was Tsuruko Aoyama, without any doubt. She looked just like he remembered her.

"The name is Negi Springfield." Negi told her as he bowed. "It's an honor to meet you again Aoyama-san."

"Excuse me?" Tsuruko looked at him, "have we met before?"

"Perhaps if I do it like this." Negi used the illusion spell to transform to his old alter ego, the inugami Kaguro. "The Kansai extremists had hired us to cause trouble a few years ago. You defeated me and my brother quite soundly."

"Oh." Tsuruko got a delighted look on her face. "I'm glad to see that you still are alive. I've often wondered what happened to the two of you. How is your brother?"

"Dead since three years." Negi said quietly.

"Oh, my condolences. He was a good person."

"Thank you, but that's not why I'm here." Negi said as he let the illusion fade. "I'm here because I need help."

"I see, perhaps you would like to tell us about the problem over some tea?" Tsuruko asked.

"That would be very nice thank you." Negi remembered the differences between the God's Cry and the Heaven's Wing. The Heaven's Wing had for over a hundred years been fighting a constant battle against the demons contained in Aokigahara while the God's Cry had during that time stood vigil over Kyoto. The former had had little use for politeness and formality and were a blunt and direct group whereas the latter were classic Samurai in the way that they considered good manners to be nearly as important as martial strength.

As they were walking towards the village he took a good look at the two sisters. They were at the same time very similar and still dissimilar. Tsuruko had an almost unearthly kind of beauty and he remembered wondering if she had supernatural blood in her veins. Motoko on the other hand was just as beautiful but her beauty was of a much more earthly kind. Somehow she reminded him of his student Akira Okochi. The two sisters were very similar to each other but somehow the small differences that were there made it impossible to confuse them. Around both of them was an unmistakable aura of power. They were the Aoyama sisters. The leaders of the God's Cry school and members of one of the most honored families in Japan.

* * *

Reaching the village they entered one of the houses where Tsuruko started preparing the tea. While she did this Negi and Motoko sat down at the table. Motoko spoke up. 

"I understand you were a mercenary before joining the Heaven's wing Springfield-san. Were you by any chance one of the Wolf Brothers, they are the only inugami hanyō I have heard of that did mercenary work?"

"Yes, Kotaro and I worked together for some time. I used an alias at the time."

"I see; Tsuruko told me that she had been amazed by you. She would never have thought that two children could challenge her."

"Challenge? She defeated us in twenty seconds."

"And usually she finishes a battle in a single heartbeat. Consider the fact that you were only children at the time you preformed admirably."

"I suppose I should be honored then. But what does my performance today make me then?"

"Worthy of marrying into our family, aneue is currently preparing a tea ceremony." Motoko said with a straight face.

Negi blinked. "Eh… well… I'm honored but…"

The warrior woman burst into laughter. "Forgive me, I was just kidding."

Tsuruko came in with the tea and sat down; she noticed Negi's expression and turned to her sister.

"Have you been pulling that marriage joke of yours on him?" She said. "I'd have thought you'd outgrown it by now."

"I suppose I'm good at disappointing you then." Motoko took a sip of the tea. "Now Springfield-san; tell us what you needed our help with."

Negi repeated the story that he had given Katsu. The two women listened silently to his story.

"And on top of it all I have to be back in Tokyo by Monday." He finished and saw that they both had a thoughtful look on his face.

"It seems from what you tell us that it has been there for quite some time but that it was recently aggravated." Motoko said. "It also seems like the girl you mentioned has become a trigger for it."

"If we may ask." Tsuruko added, "What is your relationship with her."

"She is my student." Negi said, "And my friend."

"Is that all?"

"No," he finally admitted. "I discovered a while ago that she has been cursed by a powerful demon. She will die at her sixteenth birthday unless I do something. I have been devising a ritual that might break the curse."

"It seems like the demon in question disagrees with your plans and were able to empower the taint within you." Tsuruko said, "It won't be easy but I think that we can weaken and seal the taint in you. But that is all; it can't be removed completely. "

"I am aware if that." Negi said. "And I know that I'll have to fight it for the rest of my life."

"Just one more thing." Motoko asked, "What did you do to make the Ravager your enemy?"

"I…" Negi said, "I wanted to do something right in my life for once. Unfortunately that made me his enemy."

"Very well then…" The two women stood up. "We will aid you. Come with us." They walked outside the house. Negi followed them to the temple main chamber where the temple servants were currently putting out strips of paper with words written on them on the walls and placing bowls of incense in a circle.

"About time," The voice of Katsu said. "I thought your little tea party would last until tomorrow. You ready to seal it?"

"Katsu-san?" Motoko asked, "How did you know?"

"I know everything, especially what my old students are up to." The scarred man said, "Now hop to it ladies." He clapped his hands, "We've got work to do, you cut it out and I seal it. You," he pointed at Negi, "get inside the circle and don't move."

Negi decided to obey. When his sensei was in that mood there was no point in reasoning with him. He sat down in the circle and closed his eyes as he heard the chanting begin. He emptied his mind and sunk into a meditative trance. The sensation was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was like a river washed through him, sweeping everything unclean within him away and revealing the purity beneath it. He felt a deep sense of contentment; his soul was finally able to reach the tranquility that it had been denied the last weeks. But suddenly the river vanished and the sharp ringing of steel was heard as he felt metal bars striking down around him. The bars vibrated with power as they bent around him and trapped him in an inescapable grip. He felt how the grip nearly crushed him and he snapped back to consciousness.

"Crude Katsu-san, very crude." The voice of Motoko said. Negi noticed that he was lying on the floor. "You don't think you can be any more brutal?"

"He has to be back in Tokyo tomorrow, I don't have time to be cuddly with him." Katsu said gruffly. "And if he couldn't take a little rough treatment I wouldn't have made him my student."

"T-tomorrow? Negi croaked, his throat felt like sandpaper. "School doesn't begin until Monday."

"It's Sunday afternoon Bozu." Katsu lifted him up and put a bottle of water to his lips, "These things aren't done in a minute. You have been in trance for nearly twenty-eight hours. I imagine you feel like you've just been awake for a week."

"Let's get him to bed, he needs to rest." Motoko said.

"I don't think so; he needs t' get on th' Shinkansen if he'll 'ave any chance t' get in time t' work tomorrow." someone said. "I'll drag him to Tokyo."

"Are you completely insane?" Motoko asked harshly, "He has just gone through one of the most exhausting processes that exist and now you are going to have him travel? He is not going anywhere but to bed."

"You ain't havin' any say in th' matter missy," Negi had a feeling he recognized it but he was too tired to place it. "He said that he had to be back by tomorrow and then he will even if he'll have to crawl all the way."

As Negi drifted of into unconsciousness he hear Motoko's voice, "Very well, I wash my hands of it. He is your responsibility now."

* * *

The next thing Negi remembered was that he sat in a cab heading for Mahora. The driver had leaned back and was now shaking him. 

"Hey you, where on Mahora should I let you off mister?"

"H-how did I get here?" He asked feeling like he had just downed an entire bottle of Anya's dad's moonshine.

"You don't remember anything do you?" The cabdriver asked. "I was told to pick you up at the central station, your pal said you had had a little too much to drink and couldn't keep on partying. Now where do you need to get off?"

Negi mumbled his address.

"You sure? That's the Mahora all girls' dorms."

Negi said that he was.

"Okay," The cabbie shrugged; as long as he got paid he'd drive anywhere.

When Negi got out of the cab it was near midnight. He fought to keep his eyes open as he walked listlessly up the stairs. With his last strength he opened the door and collapsed on the floor.

* * *

A/N: One of the funny things about being an author is that sometimes these things write themselves. In the beginnning this was meant to be an action story. But as things go on the story shifts and changes in my hands. It wasn't voluntarily but as it is now I will change the rating and genre of this. From now on it will be Action/Angst and M rating. (perhaps I can make people review me more with that... angst is always appriciated) There, I just did it, I became a review-junkie. But seriously; review the story. Writing a story is a reward in itself but to get reviews is the icing on the cake for us authors. 

BTW: When I mentioned JET a few chapters back I was going to put in a link but it didn't work. Here you are www. gaijinsmash. net (remove the spaces afther the dots) Go to the beginning and read it. It's hillarious.


	13. The blessing of purity

**Chapter 12: The blessing of purity**

* * *

When he awoke the following morning he found himself in his bed. Asuna and Konoka was already up and eating breakfast. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Good morning Negi-kun," Konoka said, "Did you have fun with your friends in Kyoto?"

"Eh?" Negi looked at her and saw Asuna blink at him. "Oh sure, I had the time of my life." He smiled cheerily.

"Good to hear." Konoka answered with her sweet smile, "I think that was just what you needed; you have seemed a little down lately."

"Well we should get to school." Asuna said. "It starts in twenty minutes."

"What?!" Negi jumped up and in record time got dressed, had breakfast, brushed his teeth and dashed out of the door. He came to the school building with only thirty seconds to drop off his things at the office and get to class. Rushing to the office he dropped off his things and threw his papers together and ran towards the classroom. He ran in through the doors and was seated before Ayaka had even finished ordering the students to rise. He interrupted her routine.

"Thank you class rep but we can skip that today," he grinned, "As a reward for your performance last Friday. Now, my beautiful class, please open your books at page 121." Negi felt carefree, almost giddy. There was like a heavy burden had been lifted of his shoulders and he felt a wild joy bubbling up within him. The lesson proceeded smoothly and Negi's good mood spread to the girls who laughed even more than usual. When the bells rang signaling the end of the lesson Negi decided that he would go and find Professor Seruhiko as Takamichi had suggested.

* * *

The Professor in question was his students' Chemistry teacher. A sympathetic man in his mid-twenties who gladly agreed to give Negi a tour of Mahora's magical inhabitants. 

"You already know Takamichi and the dean of course," He said as they sat on a café near the world tree plaza. "But the fact is that there are nearly a dozen teachers and many more students that are mages. In fact one of your girls is a mage."

This came as a surprise for Negi. "Really? I had no idea, who?"

"Misora Kasuga actually. She and a few other girls have formed a team called the "Mahora Mahou Shojo"

"Mahora magic girls? Cute name."

"If you think the name is cute you should se the members." Seruhiko suddenly halted, "Just don't tell anyone I said that eh?" He winked at Negi. "Student-teacher relations and all that."

"I promise." Negi smiled. Who was he to judge? He was young enough to date his students.

"Anyway, they are led by an American exchange high school student named Takane D Goodman and a nun named Sister Shakti. At the moment there are six of them. Misora, Shakti, Takane, an elementary schooler named Cocone who specializes in telepathy and two other junior high girls named Mei Sakura and Megumi Natsume."

"Sounds like a colorful bunch."

"You want to meet them?" Seruhiko asked, "I think that they are training at the world tree amphitheater later today."

"Sure."

Seruhiko went on with telling Negi about the teachers.

"We have Professor Gandolfini, an Arabian ex mercenary who now is a math teacher at high school level. He is pretty secretive about his past though and I can't say I know him too well. And of course there is Professor Nijuuin," Seruhiko chuckled, "You really should meet him. He is… well; words fail to describe him. His activation key is a recounting of his favorite buns. I think it is meat, pizza and shark-fin buns. No I'm not kidding," Seruhiko said to Negi that was currently choking on his own laughter, "But he's a great guy, teaches Japanese on elementary school level."

"Moving on to the more scary ones we have Tokou Kuzuha. She is the head of security around here and she is dead serious about her job. She's an ex-shinmeiryuu warrior but had to leave when she moved to Tokyo with her boyfriend. I think one of your students, Sakurazaki Setsuna, is her apprentice."

"_More and more surprises." _Negi thought as Seruhiko continued to reveal the truths of Mahora to him.

* * *

After an hour Seruhiko had finished his presentation of the Mahora mages and looked at the clock. "Five o clock, they should have started by now. Shall we go?" 

They left the café and walked up the stairs. Negi realized that he hadn't thought of the giant tree that stood in the middle of the campus before. Kind of odd considering its size; it had to be at least a few hundred meters high. As they reached the amphitheatre Negi sensed the unmistakable feeling of a barrier. They had put up a barrier to keep outsiders away and to not be noticed as they trained. Made sense considering that they trained in the middle of a heavily populated campus in the middle of the day. Negi and Seruhiko had no problems with passing the barrier though and Negi heard the sounds of a magic duel as soon as he had entered.

At the bottom of the theatre stood a group of young girls, two of them were dueling firing off spells against each other. The other four were standing on the side watching. Negi saw that three of the girls were nuns. He remembered that Misora were a devout catholic and since the two nuns who were standing back had a dark complexion he realized that the nun who was fighting was his student. She was using wind magic and fighting against a girl with water magic. The water user was having the initiative and Misora were hard pressed.

"Doesn't look good for your student Negi-kun" Seruhiko remarked

"I'll fix that" Negi said and sent out a telepathic message.

"_That's all you got?"_

"_What?" _She thought, _"Who are you?"_

"_Irrelevant," _he answered, _"Duck!" _She narrowly avoided a powerful spell that would have defeated her. He continued. _"Now listen, but keep an eye on her. Water is powerful, but it's slow and it can't be maneuvered easy, you are quick, stick to dodging instead of parrying, you use wind, the quickest of the four elements, this should be a cakewalk for you."_

"_O-okay." _He saw her chanting a spell; it turned out to be the "wind-borne speed" spell. She dashed around and dodged the spells easily.

"_Good, now be prepared, when she fires off a spell she will be defenseless. Use a quick spell so that you get it off just before her, then it will reach her when she fires and she won't be able to parry."_

"_Why are you helping me?" _Misora asked.

"_Can we take the questions when you have won?"_

Misora fell silent and started to watch her opponent. When the latter began to chant Misora started with a spell of her own. The second before Misora's opponent finished she got off a pair of magic arrows. They hit home but were too weak to defeat the other girl who unleashed her spell, which Misora dodged.

"_Two arrows?" _Negi asked incredulously, did she want to loose?

"_I can't do any more; I'm worthless at offensive spells." _Misora explained. _"I can never remember them."_

"_Okay let me help you. Speak your activation key and be prepared to repeat what I say on my command, in the meantime dodge."_

Sister Shakti was watching the battle with a thoughtful look at her face. Misora who had been so near defeat had regained the initiative and dodged every single one of Megumi's spells; she even managed to do a riposte on one of them.

"_If only she hadn't been so poor at offensive spells," _Shakti knew that the girl was a pacifist at heart and even if Takane had ensured her that she would put up her strongest barriers she hardly dared to even learn offensive spells. Suddenly Misora got an opening and took the opportunity; she started chanting. Now Shakti stared openly, the spell she prepared was a mid-level offensive air spell. How did she know those?

"_Wind of the mountain, gather to me. Blow with the fury of a hurricane; strike my enemy with a gust of wind! Knives of wind!" _Negi thought and Misora repeated. One of the other girl's spells was rushing against her but as she unleashed she spell the oncoming water was torn apart by a powerful gust of wind. The wind continued and crashed into her opponent who shrieked. A large amount of dust was thrown up but the larger nun blew it away with a quick spell.

Shakti ran out to Misora.

"How did you know that spell Misora?" She demanded, "That spell is too powerful for you to use yet."

"I-I don't know," Misora looked around; "Someone communicated telepathically with me and told me to use it."

"What?" Takane looked around from her position at Megumi's side. "We have an intruder! Mei-chan, prepare yourself!"

"Hey, calm down." A voice came from the platform. "You are at Mahora, not in the nether realms." Seruhiko-sensei came down the stairs.

"Was that you?" Shakti asked, "You know that we can't learn them that powerful spells yet."

"No not me," Seruhiko said.

"Then who was it?" Takane helped Megumi get up.

"Me." Misora gasped as she saw Negi-sensei coming down towards them. "As a homeroom teacher I'm supposed to help my students, right?" He asked, "Nicely done Misora-san." He added as he noticed that she was looking at him.

"You are exceeding your authority Professor Springfield." Shakti said sternly. "That spell was much more that they can handle at this level. You could have caused Megumi's death!"

"I understand your concern" Negi answered, "But Megumi-san's barrier alone was enough to ensure that she would survive and Takane-san's aid ensured that I could have hit her with a white lightning and she still would be unharmed."

"That doesn't change the fact that you had no right to interfere."

"Since?" Negi asked simply.

"We are their magic teachers." Takane said, "Not you. We decide whether they are to learn new spells or not."

"That way you'll cripple their development." Seruhiko pointed out. "If they only are allowed to learn when you want them to they won't achieve their full potential. That's a rule within all forms of teaching."

"Enough." Negi realized that this situation would only deteriorate if it continued. "You are right, I shouldn't have done that. From now on I won't do anything like that without talking with you first."

"That is all we ask Professor Springfield." Shakti said

"Please, use my first name. I feel like an old man when you call me professor." Negi smiled.

"Very well Negi-san." Takane said, "May I ask why you came here?"

"Actually I came here because I wanted to meet some of the other mages at Mahora. It seemed since there would be six of you here it would be a good idea to come here."

"I see." Shakti turned around, "come here girls." The other girls came up to them. "This is Megumi Natsume, we call her Nutmeg," She pointed at Misora's opponent. She was a timid girl with big glasses and braids.

"Sorry for helping Misora like that," Negi said, "Hope you're not angry."

"N-no, it's okay." The girl said uncertainly.

"This is Cocone." She was a small nun with a dark complexion and she looked at him with eyes that seemed to look straight through him.

"Nice meeting you." He said

"The same." She said softly.

"And this is Mei Sakura," The last girl was a red-haired girl that bowed deeply to him.

"I-it's an honor to meet you, Negi-san." She stuttered. She was very tense Negi noticed.

"Thank you Mei-san." He answered.

The girl blushed and Negi got a suspicion about the cause for her jumpiness. She might be one of those who idolized him. He decided to wait with drawing any conclusions until he had seen more.

"And finally there is us." Takane said. "I am Takane Goodman and this is Sister Shakti."

"And together you are the Mahora Magic Girls." Negi finished and noticed that Mei blushed again.

"That is only a nickname; we don't have any official name." Takane said.

"It was Mei that wanted a group name." Cocone added and Mei blushed even more.

"Well I don't see a problem with that, group names fill many functions." Negi said, "And it's a pretty good name; it says where you come from and what you are. I've heard some pretty weird names in my travels. Especially this one group of American wizards comes to mind. They called themselves "The Masters of Incinerating Hellfire." I mean cheesy much?"

The girls laughed slightly.

"Well perhaps I shouldn't interrupt your training anymore." Negi said.

"No it's okay," Takane said, "They were done with the combat training anyway. Perhaps you would like to aid us with the next part, as you might know there is much to learn from watching a battle; Shakti and I sometimes duel to show how experienced wizards fight. Perhaps you could replace Shakti today."

"Sure." Negi didn't notice the triumphant look in her eyes.

"_Bad move," _Cocone's voice echoed in her head. _"She is angry at you for helping Misora against Nutmeg and she wants to teach you a lesson." _

Negi blinked at the revelation. Takane stepped out to the middle of the arena. "Since my opponent is Negi Springfield I'm going all out." She tore off her clothes and Negi averted his eyes quickly. "Don't worry, child of the Thousand Master, I'm still modest." She said with a smirk, Negi looked at her and saw that she had a set of tight fitting leather clothes under it. And just behind her hovered a giant shadow, its long arms were reaching around her and from its belly came a swarm of tentacles. Negi stared; this was something he had never seen before.

"Behold the final technique of the shadow user: "Nocturna Nigredis!" Now let's see if you are worthy of your reputation!"

The tentacles dashed against him and he barely dodged them. She took advantage of his confusion and appeared behind him. The shadow moved with her and its moves mirrored hers. It delivered a powerful punch that shattered the ground where he had been standing a millisecond earlier. Negi dashed away from her and fired a swarm of missiles but the arms of the shadow parried them all. The tentacles flew towards him again and he decided to go in close. A Shundo took him within close range and he gave her a powerful punch reinforced with arrows. This turned out to be just as ineffective and he had to leap away. She followed after and swung at him with full power.

"When the initiative is yours go all out and don't give your opponent any respite!" She yelled as she chased him. "This technique makes me immune to impact attacks and gives me complete close and mid-range coverage."

Negi smiled slightly and decided to get serious. She had already revealed her weakness. As the tentacles approached him he closed his eyes. Takane felt exhilaration as the tentacles wrapped around him and squeezed but when they touched him he disappeared. Suddenly he was behind her. Then he vanished again and stood to her left, He disappeared and appeared all around her. Her tentacles flailed around wildly and tried to grab him but to no avail.

"It is a good technique she uses but it has two weaknesses." Negi's voice game from all around them, "While using it she can't weave any other spells since all her magic is being used to maintain the shadow. Thereby she's stuck in that shape. If she tries to leave it she will be open to an attack. By doing something like this she can't hit me as she can neither see me nor weave any spells to locate me"

"That doesn't matter." Takane said. "You still can't hit me either!"

"Actually I can. Your last mistake gives me the possibility. Your second mistake was using your clothes as an anchor for the shadow puppet." Negi appeared in front of her with his hand against her stomach. He smiled at her and fired off a swarm of light arrows that spun around his arm and into her stomach. The shadow puppet shook and dissolved as the magic energy tore into it.

Takane sunk to her knees, her magic spent. She looked up at Negi with newfound respect, even admiration in her eyes. She closed them and bowed her head. "I'm sorry," She said, "I thought you were just an arrogant boy riding your father's coattails. But I was wrong; you are your father's son in skill." She noticed that Negi was wrapping his trench coat around her. "What are you…?"

"I said you made a mistake by anchoring the shadow puppet to your clothes." Negi said, "The connection works both ways, when the puppet disappeared, well, so did your clothes."

Takane noticed that he was right; her clothes were gone! She blushed fiercely and got up. The destruction of her shadow puppet had thankfully caused a large cloud of smoke and the others hadn't seen it. "Here." Negi threw her the cloak she had discarded before the match and turned around. "And don't worry; I'm not going to tell." She changed into her cloak and closed it tightly before giving back Negi's coat. The cloud disappeared and the other girls saw them.

"Well that's the lesson for today I suppose." Negi said loudly, "Don't believe that you are invincible merely because you have a good technique."

"We'll call it a day now." Takane said quickly. "You can go home now." She walked quickly away.

"_That was funny." _Cocone sounded almost amused. Negi could see that she nearly smiled. He decided not to comment it and turned to Seruhiko,

"Shall we go?"

"E-excuse me Negi-san." The voice of Mei came from behind and he turned around.

"Yes?"

"Well, I was wondering… well, we train on Thursday too, will you come then too? I – I mean if you were going to help Misora-chan any more?" She stammered. Negi had to accept the fact; he was a celebrity.

"I don't know," Negi turned to Shakti, "Would that be alright with you; if I helped you out with training the girls?"

"If you wish, I see no reason for why you shouldn't be allowed to." Shakti was using her magic to remove the signs of the battle.

"It looks like you have a new teacher then." Negi smiled and leaned in. He whispered the incantation for summoning salamanders in Mei's ear. When he leaned back he put up a finger to his mouth and hushed. She swallowed and Negi guessed that she was floating on clouds now.

As he left the arena Seruhiko looked bemusedly at him. "What was that about Student-teacher relations again?"

"You mean Mei?" Negi asked, "She asked for my help and I don't see why I shouldn't give it."

"You never wondered why she blushed so much?" Seruhiko asked, "I thought you were perceptive."

"I noticed that but just because she admires me it doesn't mean I have to avoid her like the plague."

"Very well then Negi-kun, it's your choice."

"Negi-sensei!" He heard two voices and saw the Narutaki twins Fuuka and Fumika come walking. "What are you doing?" They asked.

"Seruhiko-sensei was giving me a tour of the campus." Negi explained.

"Hey," Fuuka said, "why are you asking poor Seruhiko-sensei to do that? He doesn't have the right authorization for that."

"What?"

"You need to be a specially trained guide to show Mahora to people, didn't you know that?"

Negi scratched the back of his head. "Actually I didn't." He had a strong suspicion that they were pulling his leg but decided to play along.

"That's no problem though," Fuuka said. "We'll show you around the campus," Fumika added. "Whenever you need a guide just call the strolling club."

"Strolling club?" Negi asked, "_What kind of policy do they have for creating clubs here?" _He thought. "Can't you stroll without a club?"

"You think it's _just_ strolling?" Fuuka looked sharply at him. "Strolling is a dangerous sport where elite sportsmen vie for the title of champion. And every year they hold the death hike across Sahara which rakes up casualties!"

"_Yep, they are pulling my leg." _Negi thought, he decided to play along and hunched down. Putting his hands on their shoulders he said solemnly.

"Promise me one thing girls," He looked at them, "don't compete in that contest, you are both young and you have the entire life ahead of you. I know I have no right to decide what you do with your spare time but please; I couldn't bear losing any of my students. Take care of yourselves, all right? Promise me that you will do that."

Fuuka had her eyes open wide; she hadn't expected this much of a reaction.

"Eh… well."

"Please!" Negi insisted.

"Sure," The Narutaki twins said, "We'll take care."

Negi smiled, "Good, now about that tour?"

"I suppose that I can leave you in their capable hands then, See you Negi-kun." With that, Seruhiko left.

* * *

Three hours later Negi came home totally exhausted; the twins had pulled him around the entire campus and showed him nearly all of it. And Fuuka had gotten revenge for him pretending that he had swallowed her lies about the death hike. She had tricked him into walking into the Girls' locker room. He had fled the field when he found out. After that they had conned him into treating them parfait at the café he and Seruhiko had visited earlier. Finally they had fooled him with the legend of the world tree. They had climbed up into it, dragging him along, and told him about how your love for someone would be answered if you confessed at the world tree, then they had caught him and given him a kiss on the cheeks each claiming that they loved him and wanted him to treat them to parfait again some time. He sat down at the table and was going to add a note about them being tricky little girls. He was not especially surprised when he saw that they had already added notes to their pictures. 

Mature notes.

"Asuna-san?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She said tiredly. She had already gone to bed.

"How come I can defeat a master of shadow magic without breaking a sweat but two junior high girls are more than I can handle?"

"'Cause you can't win against them by razing things?"

"True." Negi pondered about what she had said. Perhaps he should seal his magic? He might learn more if he was a normal person. He eventually decided against it since he still had to deal with Asuna's curse and he'd need everything he had to accomplish it.


	14. Library island part 1

**Chapter 13: Library Island part 1**

**A/N: One of my reviewers pointed out that Negi was perhaps a little too mature for his age. I can see what he meant but if you read the later volumes of the manga you will see that he's at the age of ten more mature than many people at the age of fifteen. Add the fact that he has gone through what many people never have to experience (hounded by demons, working as a mercenary, surviving the forest of death Aokigahara. ) and I find it quite plausible that he's as mature as he is. This guy never got to be a teenager. He had to grow up at once. **

* * *

Negi was sitting in the teachers' resting room sipping his coffee. He had acquired a taste for it only recently but had come to like it pretty much. The bitter, warm liquid was revitalizing and cleared his head. Looking over a diagram over his students' performance that he had created with magic he had come to the realization that even though they appeared to be interested during his lessons their performance had only barely improved. With the high school exams coming up he had to come up with something if he didn't want them to end up in the last place. 

Negi did have his priorities straight and normally he wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it. Mahora Junior High was an escalator school and everyone would get a place in high school no matter their performance and he still had to deal with the curse so logically he should devote more time to that. But the headmaster had sent him a letter stating that if they would get out of their traditional place as the worst class he would make Negi a full teacher. If he failed this he would have to go back to Wales. Negi had given up on trying reasoning with the old man. He was adamant in this decision and since he was the Kanto region's equivalent of Magus Negi's authority as the hand of the Welsh Magus didn't aid him. He shut the book and walked off to his lesson.

* * *

"Okay girls," He said when they had finished the bowing routine, "In a week we have the high school exams, now I know that you usually have ended up pretty far down on the list but I thought that we would try to break this trend. Tomorrow will be a big study session so I hope that you are ready." 

"Sensei, sensei." It was Sakurako that raised her hand. "I have an idea for a game that's all about "going for it". It's called Baseball Janken."

Fortunately Negi noticed the apprehensive look on some of the girls' faces. He had been about to tell them to go ahead but decided to ask what it was about. Ten seconds later he was lying on the floor with his feet sticking up from behind the desk. Apparently their idea of a study game was to have to discard a piece of clothing for every wrong answer you got.

"Now," he said as he crawled up, "Stripping wasn't what I had in mind. Perhaps we should try something more traditional like actually studying?"

"Awww sensei, come on!"

"_This is hopeless, I'll have to use the gray matter spell and accept that they become as dumb as rocks for a month." _Negi's head crashed into the desk. "Remind me again why I left England." He said. "Doesn't this mean anything for you?" He looked at them.

"Well, we have always been last." Misa said.

"And you are cool with that?" He got up from his chair, "You are cool with accepting the place as the school's dumbest class? You aren't stupid, I know that." He walked around the desk and sat down on it. "And that goes for all of you. From number one to number thirty-one. You have the potential to get out of that position; perhaps even to win the cup, I know it. I've done my best here, but have you? Don't you feel anything about being branded as "the baka-class"?"

"One week ago you managed to win against the High School Kanto masters in dodgeball. Where did the determination and willpower you showed there come from if not from your own hearts? Why don't you use that here too? Last time you showed one class that they shouldn't underestimate you. Now you have the chance to show the entire school that class 2-A is not only the liveliest and nicest class at Mahora, but the most determined too; that they have the strength to win anything. Doesn't that sound exciting, that when you stand there and they are displaying the points you will be on top? And what are the odds for you winning? How many lunch tickets can you win by betting on 2-A? Those odds aren't absolute; they were estimated by people that don't know half of what I know about you." Negi was standing up now, leaning forward.

"You can do it. One month here has shown me that you can succeed in anything if you put your heart in it. When you are devoted to something you are like a wildfire. I have only seen that once but I know that if you find that strength you will win. And the best thing is that it's in here," He pointed at his heart," that you will find it. Dig it out and perform some miracles girls." The bells rang and the lesson ended. The classroom was emptied in a second as usual and Negi sighed. Would they listen?

* * *

When he got home he dived headlong into his texts, the research he had done this far said that he still could do his work in another place. But it was one thing that stood in the way. The tome of Melchizedek. They would never allow him to remove it from the campus. He'd have to get it as soon as possible and copy the necessary texts. He had little to do this evening and decided to head there at once. He left a note for Asuna and Konoka that said that he was off visiting an old friend and that he wouldn't be back before the middle of the night. 

He equipped himself, not knowing what he might face, first time it had been a dragon, the second a demon powerful enough to petrify the dragon. First his magic gun and enough bullets to fight off a horde of demons, a belt for holding shotgun rounds that he had converted into holding spell catalysts, the spellcaster ring, a pair of scrolls with healing magic, a pair of bracers that allowed him to see in darkness and see body heat as well as different kinds of magical radiation, the book he got from Albreido in case he'd need some spells he didn't have memorized, and finally his heavily enchanted battle clothes that would double the effect of any barriers he put up in addition to allowing complete and unrestricted movement.

He flew to Library Island in order to not draw any unnecessary attention with his wind magic cloaking him and entered the library. At six o clock there was still quite a lot of commotion there and he had to sneak into the deeper parts of the library. As he got deeper into the library a part of him wondered exactly what that had been wrong with the creator of this place. It was built to resemble a mix of the nature outside Mahora, with mountains, rivers, waterfalls and cliffs, and the catacombs beneath it. He had to wallow through hip deep water, crawl through tight passages and levitate down steep cliffs. And all of it was made up by bookshelves.

Eventually he felt a deep undercurrent of magic. The nature of it made his certain that he was on the right track. He eventually came into the catacombs and reached a large chamber. It was saturated by dormant magic. His trained eyes picked out the two giant statues, they were too roughly made to be decoration; they were guardian golems. He loaded the gun with anti-construct bullets and walked slowly forwards with one hand around the gun and the other pulled back ready to unleash a spell. He avoided the bridge that went across a lowered part of the floor between the statues. It was too obvious for him to fall for it. Then he saw his goal: the tome of Melchizedek, an ancient tome that held secrets of every kind. There were thousands of mages that would give anything for just a peek in it.

He used every spell for revealing traps he knew around it. When he didn't find anything he got suspicious. Why such sloppy security for an artifact of this power? He didn't approach; there was something fishy going on here. Suddenly a floor plate moved and he dashed into cover. He hid behind one of the pillars and carefully looked out. When he saw who it was his jaw hit the floor. It was the baka-rangers and Konoka! What in the name of Merlin were they doing here?! They crawled out from the hole and looked around.

"Wow!" Ku Fei said, "I no have seen anything like this before."

"I have," Makie interjected, "On my brother's Playstation."

Negi pulled up his hood. That was one of the finesses with his battle clothes, by pulling up the hood he would activate a spell that made his clothes turn black, obscure his face and make him seem like half shadow. It was an invaluable aid during scouting and sneaking missions. They had several other functions as well and had cost a fortune.

"There it is!" Asuna shouted, pointing at the book. Negi cursed as he saw them running towards the bridge. He used Shundo to move in between them and the bridge, with no time to think he had to improvise. He appeared only a few feet from Makie who was in the lead

"Stop!" He said, using a unincanted spell to distort his voice, "You are not allowed to be here. Turn back!"

"Aahh!" Makie yelled and fell backwards, "A ghost!"

"Aren't ghosts supposed to be translucent?" Yue said. Makie didn't listen and hid behind Kaede and Ku Fei

"Help me, don't let him take me!" Negi was amazed by the fact that both Ku Fei and Kaede dropped into combat stance.

"Fools!" He roared, "You have the audacity to violate my home and now you dare to attack me?!"

"Calm down," Yue walked up to him. "We just want the book, and then we'll leave."

"You just want the book?" He repeated, what was going on here?! "Why?" He asked

"We need to become smarter before Friday." She answered, Negi flinched inwardly, they had apparently heard about on of the book's many uses.

He decided to scare them, "Fools", he said quietly, "Do you truly think that it is that easy? That you can gain intelligence just by reading a book? I suppose I shouldn't blame you, I thought the same."

"You tried to read it too?" Yue asked.

"Yes, and see what that made me." Negi now had the story clear in his head, "A bodiless specter, forever cursed to wander these halls. I did gain knowledge, I know everything about everything in these halls, I see future, past and present all at once. Even when I sleep the images flash in front of me. It was years since I last slept, what use is eyelids when you can see the entire creation at once no matter what you do."

"If that's true, what is my name?" She asked, she apparently didn't buy it straight of the bat.

"Yue Ayase." Negi said, "Your class is 2-A and your sensei is Negi Springfield, a young European from Wales in Great Britain. Your student number is 4 and you are a member of the group "Baka-rangers" that are made up of the five worst scorers in the class, you are Baka-black and the leader of the group. You were born on the sixteenth of November 1988. You like unusual drinks and hates studying, the latter lowering your scores even though you are intelligent."

"Okay," Yue looked nervous now, the first display of emotion so far, "I believe you."

"Wow," Makie said, "Hey what's my name?" She asked him

"Makie Sasakie." He answered.

"…And?"

"I'm not going to tell you things you already should know."

"Oh this is great," Asuna said, "The only way for us to…" The rest faded away as Negi received a telepathic transmission.

"_My, my." _A voice said, _"I spend all this time to prepare this challenge and you waltz right in and run them off with your horror stories." _Negi realized who it was. The Dean!

"_What are you attempting here?" _He asked.

"_Other than safeguarding my property from thieves? I have a special study session planned for the Baka rangers. Perhaps you would like to aid me. They are too adventurous to learn well in a classroom. Allow me to clarify:"_ The dean sent him a lightning-fast series of images that outlined his plan. When he was finished Negi was on the verge of going berserk.

"So you are trying to tell me that the entire thing was a ruse to try to see how good my skills as a wizard was?!"

"Well... yes."

"_You _are_ senile!"_

"_Now, now; show your elders some respect. Let me feed you some lines and we might still be able to salvage this." _

"_Make me…"_

"_I can dispel the obfuscation spell around you and show them who you are."_

"…_Deal."_

"… And now a wisecracking ghost tells us that we'll end up becoming his roommates for eternity if we try anything!" Asuna finished her tirade.

"So what if you don't gain knowledge before Friday?" Negi asked, "Are you truly that desperate to get good grades? I admit that it was a long time since I studied at Mahora but I don't remember them throwing out students that fail their tests."

"It's not about us Ghost-san." Konoka said, "If we end up in last place they will fire our teacher."

"_So they know…" _Negi didn't know if he should be honored that his students took these risks for him or be sad that they'd rather run off chasing rumors than study.

"So what?" Negi said, "They will give you a new teacher. You are seriously running around sticking your noses into things you should have stayed out of for your _teacher's _sake? For a fool that sees you as nothing more than a way for him to earn his salary? _Aren't you overdoing it now?" _He thought to the dean.

"_Just wait and see." _The old man answered.

"Hey!" Ku Fei yelled, "You no insult Negi-sensei, you take back or me fight you!"

"Yeah," Makie added, "Negi-sensei is the best!"

"He is a man we all respect." Kaede said grimly, "And we will defend him no matter who slanders him."

"So you've all fallen in love with him and now you rush to his aid." Negi chuckled: "Cute. How about the rest of you? Do your hearts skip a beat when he looks your way?" He said to the other three girls. "_You are _so_ going to get it when I'm out of here old man", _He thought.

Konoka blushed at his remark, Asuna had steam coming out of her ears but Yue stood still.

"So what if we have?" She asked, "He who doesn't know love will never gain true strength." She quoted her grandfather, who Negi had heard had been a philosopher. "He has earned our respect through devotion and hard work. He puts his soul into his work and he makes even the most unbearable lessons interesting. What is wrong with doing everything we can for him? The test is in three days and if we don't get out of the last place we'll be responsible for him being fired. We came here because we care. What do you care for?"

Negi was struck by the sincerity of her words.

"_You seem to have made quite an impression Negi-sensei." _The headmaster remarked.

"_Please shut up." _Negi remembered how much he hated lying to those that were close to him.

"Very well," he said with the headmaster's guidance. I'll give you a chance. Defeat me and you can have it, and I will even tell you how to avoid the traps in it." He lifted off the ground and levitated to the far end of the bridge. "Choose your champion and face me in this arena.

But if you fail you will be mine!"

"I fight you!" Ku Fei stepped forward. "You no insult Negi-sensei and get away with it." She walked out on the bridge. She went into a combat stance that Negi recognized as Chinese Kempo. Then she charged at him, with much greater speed and strength than he had expected.

"_What kind of girls do I have in my class?!" _He thought as he blocked a punch that made him tremble. He managed to get some distance from her and activated the Cantus Bellax. The air around him started to vibrate with power. Ku Fei's eyes got wide

"This no is good." She said

She leapt into a variant of the crane stance and suddenly she moved like lightning. She used Shundo! A mundane teenage junior high girl used Shundo! She came at him with an elbow strike against the torso; Negi was too surprised to react and was thrown off the bridge.

"Yeah," The other girls cheered.

But as he flew through the air he twisted and used a mid-air Shundo to get back onto the bridge. She amazed him; she was better than Kotaro had been when they first met. He went on the offensive and sent a swarm of punches against her. She leapt over him trying to surprise him but he took a step back and gave her an uppercut in the stomach followed by a magic-enforced palm strike that sent her flying. She skidded across the floor until Kaede caught her. The way she moved made Negi suspect that there was more to her too than met the eye.

"You lose, I win." The ground opened under the girls and they fell into darkness. Negi laid a spell that would ensure that they landed unharmed. The dean came out from one of the statues.

"Very nice work Negi-sensei." He congratulated. "You are more talented then I thought."

"Thank you sir." Negi decided to be polite in speech at least. "But now what?"

"Go down to them and make up a story about why you are there. I'll ensure that your other students will have a teacher too." He picked up an onmyou charm and wrote Negi's name on it.

"Charm-san, oh Charm-san, take his place for three days." The paper doll transformed and became an identical copy of Negi. "There's your replacement. The girls will find a way out before the test, but for now they will at least be in a place where they'll have to study to pass time. Here." He threw a pajama to him. "Put this on, I don't think that your current attire is especially fitting around the girls."

As Negi put on the pajama the headmaster walked off. "Let's up the ante, if they don't finish last I'll overlook your attempt to steal the book and let you borrow it for a year. And leave the clothes here; I'll make sure that they are taken to your apartment." He stroked his beard as he disappeared behind a corner.

Negi looked after the man with mixed feelings. He was obviously not as senile as he had appeared in the beginning; he had had the entire scenario planned from beginning to end and when Negi had interfered with the plan he had adapted immediately and managed to push thing's back into the planned pattern. Negi couldn't help but to respect that.

But he also appeared like he wasn't fully human. Negi remembered that people used to say that the truly powerful and old wizards lived in another world. They had so much wisdom and experience together with their power that they couldn't be only humans anymore; they became something more. Almost gods in their own rights. The dean hadn't hesitated to drop six girls, one of them his granddaughter, into a deep pit. He either had to be completely confident that things would work out or totally ruthless in order to do that. Negi guessed on the former.

He walked up to the pit and leapt into it. His students had risked all this for him and he wouldn't leave them in the bottom of a pit as reward for their devotion to him.


	15. Library Island part 2

**Chapter 14: Library island part 2**

* * *

Negi levitated down the pit and came into a giant cave. It looked much like the rest of the library with bookshelves all over the ground. But here it looked like they had added a bit of tropical paradise island to the mix. He hurried to the ground and masked his presence. After a minute of looking he found the girls. They were sitting together in a ring apparently very down. He heard how Makie was sobbing. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. He felt like the worst person in the world for doing all this. He picked up some dirt and smeared it over his clothes. After having done that he staggered out from his hiding place, acting like he was in a daze.

"N-Negi-sensei?" Konoka was the first of the girls that saw him. They all turned around and looked at him.

"Oh…" He said weakly, "Hi girls." He stumbled forward and fell to the ground but Asuna, who grabbed him, intercepted the fall.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a worried expression on her face.

"S-some weird ghost came and dragged me off to Library Island and threw me down this hole." He made a show out of trying to clear his head. "What is going on here?"

"Oh sensei we are so sorry, this is our fault!" The girls nearly tripped each other in their desire to explain it all. After hearing their explanation he sunk down on the ground.

"I repeat what I said to Sakurako-san." He said. "Perhaps we should try something more traditional like actually studying? Do you truly think that reading a book would solve that problem?"

"But sensei," Makie said, "We are too stupid! We could never improve our grades enough so you can stay in just three days."

"That's nonsense and you know it." Negi said, "You aren't stupid, don't give me that because I won't listen."

"But…"

"No!" Negi said firmly. "I won't listen to any more of that." He got up and shook his head. "Whew… feels like I've been drugged." He looked around at the bookshelves. He noticed that one of the shelves and English titles on the backs of its books. Smiling he walked up to the shelf and took out one of the books. He smiled seeing as how it was a workbook for junior high English students.

"Look at this!" He exclaimed. The girls ran up to him and looked at the book. "Perhaps we can get something useful done here after all." He turned around. "Pick a book each and get over to the tree. We'll need shade if we're going to read."

"What?"

"You did say something about getting out of last place," He skimmed through the book. "The only way to do that is studying. Get your books and sit down, we'll get out of here somehow."

The girls looked after him and eventually they picked up a book each and sat down under the shadow of the tree.

* * *

A few hours later they had decided to take a break and Negi was currently going through some of the other bookshelves. He heard footsteps behind his back and looked back to see Asuna.

"What really happened?" She asked. "I don't believe that that jerk of a ghost really did bring you here." Negi had hoped that she wouldn't ask that question. He closed the book he was reading and looked straight at her.

"That book you tried to get is called the book of Melchizedek; it's one of the most powerful books of its kind in the world. I came here because I needed it."

"For what? I can't imagine that you'd need to get smarter."

"I can't give you any details but jacking up brainpower is just a warm-up for those who use that book Asuna-san."

"This school is getting weirder and weirder." Asuna said, "First I get a mage as a teacher, then there is a incredibly powerful magic book buried under the library and now we're in this weird chamber, what's next; a dragon?"

Negi shuddered at the memory of the beast in the catacombs, was it still petrified?

Nearly three days later Negi was swimming through the water. He had taken a break from the teaching and was now fully enjoying the warm water. He wondered why he didn't go swimming more often. It had been years since he enjoyed this, during his travels there had been little time for it but now he was free of that. He resolved to go swimming more often.

As he climbed out of the water he saw something in the corner of his eye. Turning to look he gasped as he saw Asuna swimming through the water, the fact that she was doing backstrokes ensured that he got a good eyeful of her and he turned away quickly. Scrambling out of the water he tried to clear his head of the image. But as he was shaking his head he didn't see the root sticking out of the ground and he tripped on it. His foot got stuck and he tried to get out of it. Suddenly Asuna came out from behind a stone. Thankfully she had covered herself with a bathing towel.

"What are you… oh my god!" She gasped when she saw him. Negi realized that she had seen his scars. She walked up to him and kneeled by him as she reached out to touch them. "What has happened to you?" She asked.

"It's nothing." He said trying to get his foot out of the root's grip.

"Would you stop saying that?" Asuna gripped him." This isn't nothing! You look like you've been cut to pieces and stitched back together!" Negi's foot came out of the trap and he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground again, this time Asuna fell too since she had grabbed him and she ended up on top of him.

Negi felt his heart rate going through the roof, he was currently only wearing his underpants and Asuna's towel had fallen off her. They were now lying with their faces only a few inches from each other and their bodies pressed against each other. He lay perfectly still as he looked at her. The feeling of her naked body against him sent jolts of electricity through him. His face became flushed, he had trouble breathing and time seemed to slow down.

"Negi-sensei, Negi-sensei!" Konoka's cry came like both a blessing and a curse. Asuna rolled off him and picked up the towel. "Something terrible has happened."

"Something terrible" turned out to be one of the statues from the chamber. It had found it's way down to them and had already captured Makie. Ku Fei and Kaede were moving around it trying to escape its hands.

"Ho,ho,ho!" The statue said, "There you all are, the master wanted me to get him some female company and I was afraid that I wouldn't find you."

"Not a chance in hell you perverted pile of gravel." Negi yelled, "My students aren't going anywhere but to their tests!"

"Yes… the tests… Even if you left right now it would take you three days to get home." The golem gloated.

"Th-three days?" Yue said.

"We going to miss test, it all was waste of time!" Ku Fei said.

"What did I tell you about giving up?" Negi yelled, "We will get out of here! Get your things and let's run!"

"Wait!" Yue shouted, "Look at its neck." She pointed at the statue. Behind it's head lay the book. "Baka-rangers go!" She ordered and Negi could only look in amazement as Ku Fei kicked the Statue in the wrist hard enough to make it drop Makie and Kaede leaping up, catching Makie who then used her rhythmic gymnastic ribbon to grab the book of its shoulder.

"We got it!" Makie shouted. "Let's get out of here." They broke into a sprint away from the giant statue. After a few minutes of dodging it they ran in behind a waterfall to hide. It turned out that the waterfall hid a door with a question written on it.

"What is this?" Yue asked, "What is the past participle of, in English, read?"

"Are you kidding me?" Asuna yelled.

"Wait!" Ku Fei shouted, "I know this, answer is read!" The door swung open. They entered seeing as how the statue was approaching.

"How did you know that?" Makie asked.

"Is the book," Ku Fei answered, "Just holding makes you smart!"

Inside was an incredibly high cylindrical room with a long stairway going along the walls. At the top Negi could see daylight. They started running up it. At even intervals the stair was blocked by more questions of every kind. The girls managed, to Negi's amazement, answer every question, which was good since the statue had followed them and was climbing the stairs. Suddenly Yue slipped and fell off the stairs, Negi leapt after her and managed to grab her while still holding the stair with his other arm. He pulled up her and saw that she had hurt her ankle.

"L-leave me sensei." She groaned, "I'll be fine."

"Shut up!" Negi picked her up and continued the sprint. "I don't abandon my students!"

When they reached the top an elevator greeted them. They hurried inside and pressed the up button. But the elevator didn't move.

They were overloaded.

"Two days of sitting still and eating in an underground library!" Makie yelled, "I should have known!"

"Yeah, I saw you pigging out the most!" Yue said

"Like hell!" I lost weight! It was Kaede and Asuna that ate everything within sight."

"Can you take the weight discussion later girls?" Negi couldn't believe that they were discussing weight at a time like this.

"Wait," Asuna exclaimed, "it's not much excess weight. I can't believe I say this but take off your clothes! They are excess weight."

"Ho ho ho!" The statue had come all the way up now. "You do that, that way you'll only be more prepared for the master!"

Now Negi had had enough. He walked out of the elevator. He would turn the bloody golem to sand.

"Go and take the test girls. I'll deal with this guy."

"What?" They asked, "Are you crazy?"

"No; I'm your teacher." He said solemnly. He didn't even think of the fact that it was all a façade; he would put an end to this spectacle now. Suddenly a hand jerked him back into the elevator.

"What's the point of you becoming our teacher if you're going to go up against something like that and get yourself killed?"

"Let me go or that thing will…!"

"It's not going to do anything!" Asuna threw the book at the golem who tripped backwards and fell down the stairs. The "overloaded" sign stopped blinking and the doors shut. The elevator started shaking as it climbed the shaft. Negi stared at the closed elevator doors. The book of Melchizedek had just been thrown into an endless shaft.

"That was close." Asuna sighed.

"Th-th-the book" Negi whimpered.

"Yeah… this was a total waste of time." Yue said.

"But it was fun!" Ku Fei added cheerily.

Negi choose not to comment on that.

* * *

They reached the surface only with only thirty minutes left before the test began. After a mad dash to the dorms to get clothes that weren't torn or, in Negi's case, a pajama they were now running towards the building. Negi looked at his watch and saw that they were already ten minutes late. At the door they were greeted by Nitta-sensei, a man who was famous for his harsh way of dealing with those who broke the rules. He awaited them with a grim look on his face and as they drew near Negi took the lead.

"I apologize for this Nitta-sempai." He said apologetically, adding sempai because his experience had taught him that a little flattery never hurt in tight spots. "My students insisted on pulling an all-nighter and were delayed because they overslept."

"The bakas, I should have known." The man who was called "the ogre of Mahora junior high," said severely. "That was a poor decision Negi-kohai. To waste your energy on last minute studying never works out. You latecomers will take the test in another classroom."

The girls walked away with him and Negi noticed that they were wobbling. "Hey girls," he shouted. They turned around. "Good luck."

"Yeah," Makie said, "Don't worry."

"It'll be a piece of cake." Kaede made the victory sign

"We get by without book." Ku Fei smiled.

Negi couldn't help but to notice that they had serious problems keeping up their façades. _"Not good…" _He thought as Asuna grabbed his shoulder.

"It's alright." She blinked at him. "Don't worry about the book, we'll do great."

Negi smiled and turned to the others "What did I say about giving up?" He said in English. First they looked confuse but then they realized what he had said and their spirits seemed to lift just a little.

"Let's go everyone!" They marched inside the building.

Negi looked inside the room where his students were doing the test. They all were on the brink of exhaustion. The long flight up the stairs had drained them. Nitta was standing amongst them with a rolled together newspaper holding it as a club. Fitting for the ogre as he was called. The performance of these girls would determine whether he'd be allowed to stay and use the book. He decided to give them a little help. Picking up a flower he had found in the chamber he started chanting softly.

"Rastel Mascir Magister, The fragrance of a flower, a wind that will fill my friends with energy, vitality and health." A soft wind of energy flew through the chamber and the girls perked up as the magic revitalized them.

"_I've done everything I can," _he thought, _"Now it's up to you."_

* * *

The great hall was filled with students and all over the campus sat students at different locations watching their TV's or computer screens waiting for the News Club to reveal the average points for each class. It was a grand sight; the students had formed betting pools, put up a giant TV screen and loudspeakers that shouted out hints and suggestions about the score ensuring that the students were really riled up. Negi was standing with the baka rangers watching the screen waiting for the results. Even though Negi didn't show it the suspense was nearly too much for him. Everything hung on the result. If he failed it would all be over. He would be unable to gain access to the book and he would have to leave the campus. Asuna would be doomed. The only reason he had been able to find the book to begin with was that the headmaster had planned the trap for the baka rangers early on. Now he had divined the entire campus without finding a trace of it. It all hung on the class' score.

"Argh. I'm so nervous," Makie was trembling from the tension.

"I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing actually." Yue said.

"Yeah!" Makie snapped, "It's always nice to not care for others huh?"

"Hey I'm as worried as the rest of you."

"Don't worry Negi-kun." Konoka patted him on the shoulder. "We'll do fine." Negi couldn't help but to be calmed by her optimism.

The loudspeakers spoke up and started to reveal the scores.

"Having finished the counting we see that in first place we have… 2-F! With an average score of 80.8!"

"_Not first, but what did I expect?" _Negi thought.

The News Club continued going down the list. Second place wasn't theirs either, or third, or fourth. As they proceeded down the list Negi was going through alternatives, if he would fail here perhaps he could do with a lesser book. He tried to calm himself, all that was required was that they didn't finish last he repeated as a mantra. Now there were only two classes left.

"And the booby price goes to… 2-K. Better luck next year."

Negi's world came crashing down. _"I failed," _was the only thing he could think of. He turned around and walked slowly out of the building. His feet felt like lead. He walked as if in trance towards the dorms. _"I failed." _Echoed in his head as he packed his things. He had been so focused on freeing Asuna that he didn't devote enough to the class and now he had paid the price. He shut the door and walked towards the station. Stopping one last time and looking back on the school he thought: _"I'm sorry Asuna, I wasn't good enough to help you." _Turning around again he felt something within him.

"_Are you going to let this stop you?"_ A taunting voice asked. _"What was it you said about giving up?"_

"_What can I do? The book of Melchizedek was the most critical component for that spell." _Negi continued towards the station; too depressed to even wonder whom the voice belonged to.

"_Take it!" _The voice hissed. _"Show that fool the true meaning of power! You are the son of the Thousand Master, annihilate the old fool and claim the book as your prize!"_

"_No…" _He would become one of the most hunted men in the world if he did that.

"_So that's how much your promise to Asuna was worth? Liar…" _The voice whispered.

"_Stop." _Negi thought, _"I can't do anything."_

"_Weakling…" _The voice continued, _"Betrayer…"_

"_Stop it!" _Negi gripped his head, _"Even if I did everything I could I'd have no chance against the dean! He's too powerful!"_

"_You have all the power you need." _The voice whispered sweetly. _"You have the power of darkness within you. That is all you need to save her." _The voice was right; the taint would give him immense strength.

"_I can't tap into it, I'd loose control." _Negi thought.

"No you won't. Didn't the Shinmeiryuu cut almost all of it out? There is not enough left to control you. You could control it and save her"

"_No!" _

"_You must save her!" _The voice screamed, _"Otherwise you will have to live with the fact that she burns in hell because of your failure!"_

"_But I…" _

"_Are you truly that afraid? Does her suffering mean so little to you? Do it! She mustn't die!"_

"_I'll become a monster! Something they use to scare children with!"_

"_And her life isn't worth that? You promised to help her! You know what will happen to her!"_

"_No… I can't do it." _Negi felt his resolve crumble.

"_Do it." _The voice whispered,_ "It's the only way. Come," _Negi felt a tugging inside, _"Undo the seal, let it out and you'll be able to save her_…" It whispered softly

Negi acted as if in trance, like he was a lifeless puppet, he closed his eyes and reached inside his mind. He felt the seal in his soul and started pumping magic into it.

"_Yes…" _The voice whispered. _"Yes…"_ the seal was starting to weaken.

"Negi!" A shout shook him out of the trance. Asuna came running towards him.

"_What was I doing?" _He thought. He felt like he had been asleep.

"I'm so sorry Negi!" She said, "If – if I hadn't thrown away that book we would have done it."

"It's not your fault." Negi said, "None of you were at fault. It was I who didn't cut it. If I had been any kind of teacher you would have made it. It's I who am at fault here. It was nice meeting you Asuna-san" He started to walk towards the station again.

"Wait a minute here;" She continued, "Are you going to give up that easily? Something will work out! We'll come up with something."

"Like what? Pray to god? Sacrifice a goat? Leave a tooth for the tooth fairy?" Negi looked straight at her.

"I failed," he said simply, "I had the most important task in my life and I failed! I messed up! I devoted more time to running around gathering magic items than to your lessons. I wasn't good enough! It's over for me; the dean was clear on that, "if 2-A doesn't come last this year you will be made a full teacher." And you did everything you could; it was I who failed."

"Will you stop that?" She grabbed him, "You tell us to fight even when it's hopeless and now you are going to chicken out? You don't leave this campus or I'll kick you into orbit! You hear me? I won't let you leave!"

Her words struck a chord in Negi who stopped and looked back at her. She really meant it.

"Negi-sensei!" The other girls came running. "Wait!"

"Were you going to leave without telling us?" Makie sniffed.

"You won't have to leave." Konoka said, "I'll speak to grandpa on your behalf."

"Yes, we'll ask if we can do the test again." Kaede said.

"Yes, they too harsh on you!" Ku Fei exclaimed.

Negi looked at the girls and felt a small ray of happiness. "Thank you." He said, "You've made me very happy now." The girls smiled at him. "But the fact remains that I didn't accomplish the headmaster's task." He added grimly, "And he has fired me for it."

"But… no!"

"Hmm…" A voice came from behind. "Your students do have a point Springfield-sensei." The headmaster came walking. "You see, the final numbers were tallied and announced prematurely, the delayed students weren't included. The News Club has been disciplined for this."

Negi held his breath, "Does that mean…?"

The headmaster gave the girls their tests and informed them of their scores. They had all done superbly considering their earlier grades. Class 2-A's position wasn't last when they had added their points.

It was first.

"We did it!" The girls cheered and stated jumping around in ecstasy. Negi couldn't believe it. He wasn't fired! The headmaster dragged him off to the side.

"Now I believe I owe you something." He reached into his clothes and pulled out the tome of Melchizedek. "Take care of it." Negi accepted the book with trembling hands. This tome held secrets of every imaginable kind. "Now I want you to remember this." He said sternly, "I know how much breaking that curse mean to you but I won't allow you to slack off on the teaching part. The girls depend on you and respect you very much."

"I won't." Negi swore sincerely.

"Good," The old man smiled, "Now I believe you should go and celebrate with your students."

Negi put the book in his backpack and headed back to the school with the girls.

* * *

The next day Negi was formally made a teacher during the third semester announcement. The dean held a speech in front of the entire school and when he announced that Negi was hired the entire school cheered. Later in the classroom the girls were in a state of bliss waving the trophy around. Negi held his hands up and clapped them. The girls quieted down slightly and he spoke up.

"I'm so proud over you!" He yelled, "This is just like the dodgeball game! You are incredible! You are heroes!" The cheering intensified.

"Yeah, and we owe it all to you!" Yuna said happily.

"With Negi-sensei here we're a lock to be tops for the midterm test." Fuuka cheered.

"No, no!" Negi shook his head, "I only showed you the door! You were the ones who walked through it!"

"But still," Ayaka said, "We rallied around you and went from worst to best."

"The strength came from you girls." Negi insisted and held up his hand, "And, from now on, if you claim that it wasn't thanks to you that you won you'll have to sit seiza." He added with a wink thereby putting an effective end to that discussion. "Now before we end this year I have an idea. What do you say we throw a party to celebrate?" Negi had gotten used enough to the class to brace himself for the cheer that erupted. The girls were all ecstatic at the thought.

All except one Negi corrected himself. Negi noticed that one of the girls, Chisame Hasegawa, was sitting still staring into the table. She was remarkably quiet about the fact that they had managed to come first. Perhaps she had personal problems of some kind? The girls all ran out with different tasks to complete in preparation for the party. A quick vote had decided that they would hold it outside the dorms on the lawn. Negi had been forbidden to do any tasks since the students still believed that he was the reason they had succeeded, so he decided to check up on Chisame.

She lived in the same house as Negi. Apparently she lived alone, which was rare considering how cramped they were in the dorms. The normal was for two to share a room but three was just as usual. He walked up to her door and knocked on the door. When she didn't answer he felt if the door was locked. It was and he carefully opened.

Inside he saw a sight that nearly made him fall over. The quiet, severe Chisame was sitting in a bunny suit in front of a computer. He tried to speak but couldn't get his mouth to work. He wouldn't have been more astonished if she had turned out to be a necromancer. He saw that she was working with a photo-editing program on some pictures of her in the bunny suit. He softly stepped closer, looked at her working; he noticed that she was very skilled and worked with incredible speed. She was giggling to herself as she put up the images on a website. When he saw what website he was even more amazed.

"Chiu eh?" He said deciding to reveal himself. Chisame whirled around and stared at him with utter horror in her eyes. "I'm impressed Chisame-san, I'd never have guessed that it was your site " She didn't move a muscle; Negi noticed she didn't even breathe. It was probably best not to make a big deal out of it. She seemed embarrassed enough as it was.

He looked at the pictures again. "Though if I may ask something," He said turning around and saw that she was holding a lamp in her hand. "Why do you do all that editing? As far as I've seen you could very well skip half of it." He continued unfazed. "I mean it's not like you aren't pretty to start with." She stopped in her tracks and opened her mouth to produce some half-choked sounds. "Anyway, I came to ask you if you'd like to come along to the party, all the other's will be there. Well? Will you come along?"

"Um… n-n-no thanks:" She stammered.

"Why not, it'll be fun," Negi said, "And you are one of those we celebrate."

"I-I just don't want to party with those lunatics." She pressed forth. "And I've got things to do."

"You know Chisame." He got a little more serious, "You can't sit inside a dark room all of your life. And what kind of fan would I be if I allowed one of my idols to waste away."

"F-fan?!" Chisame looked like she would faint on the spot.

"Yes," Negi admitted, "I found that page a few weeks ago and I was amazed by the quality of Chiu's writings. If you did your homework half as well as that you'd score top marks without any problems. My username is "Firebrand" by the way."

"Y-y-you are the guy I was about to ask for help with the English version of the page?!" Now she was even nearer fainting.

"You were?" Negi lifted an eyebrow "I'm honored. Let's make a deal, you follow me to the party and I'll gladly help you. And besides, "Chiu need sun to keep herself beautiful" I read a while ago." He quoted the page. "If you don't get some color on your skin it'll show on your pictures."

Eventually Chisame accepted, changed into normal clothes and followed him outside on the condition that he didn't say anything. Negi couldn't help but feeling relieved since he had expected something like she having lost a family member.


	16. The Magic Princess

**Chapter 15: The Magic Princess**

* * *

As the end of spring break drew near Negi sat by the table looking at a map. With the aid of some spells and Magi-net he had produced a functional map over the different components' possible locations. He cursed for the umpteenth time over his lacking computer skills and wished that Chamo had accompanied him. The ermine was a master of information seeking and would have done it in half the time and ten times better. But he couldn't blame the ermine. 

_Flashback:_

_"So it's Japan huh?" Chamo asked as he watched Negi run around packing. "Seems like we're destined to travel there."_

_Hey Albert!" A small voice yelled outside. "Albert!"_

_"What's this about?" Negi and Albert looked outside the window. There stood a large gray ermine._

_"Hey Thomas," Chamo greeted, "what's the matter?"_

_"It's your sister!" Thomas explained, "She has fallen ill and she wanted to see you!"_

_"Lil' sis?" Chamo looked at him. "What has happened?"_

_"We don't know, she's been wasting away for a week now. She wouldn't let us tell you until now."_

_"Oh no…" Chamo looked between Thomas and Negi in despair. "I'm sorry big bro, I can't leave if lil' sis is sick."_

_"It's alright Chamo," Negi said, "I don't expect you to. Go and take care of her."_

_"Thank you for understanding, big bro." Albert looked at him with grateful eyes. "I'll come after you as soon as she's better."_

_End Flashback_

That had been a few months ago now. He started wondering how Chamo and his sister were doing. Was she dead now? Had she recovered? He decided to leave the thoughts for now and returned to the map. Takamichi had managed to get him the moon water. Now there were six things left. He poured over the map and was working to eliminate the least possible locations. As it were he had over ten thousand possible locations. The door opened and Asuna stepped inside the apartment having finished her paper deliveries. She looked over his shoulder on the map.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm trying to estimate the most possible locations for some magical items I need." Negi explained.

"Looks complicated." She remarked, "Can't you just use a crystal ball to look it up?"

"I think I've said this before, Magic isn't absolute. It is a great and powerful thing but it's not a deus ex machina."

"A what?" Asuna looked at him

"It's not something that can solve every problem in the world just like that."

"Why didn't you just say that then?"

Negi chose to not answer and returned to working with the map. He drew a series of patterns with his finger across the map and wrote down a series of numbers. It seemed like he'd need more data before he could make any definite conclusion. He folded the map together and rose.

"Where are you going?" Asuna asked

"I'm going to do some measurements. As it is now I can't get a definite answer out of the map."

"Mind if I tag along?" She wondered, "I don't have anything else to do anyway."

"If you wish." He said, "But you'll probably think it's boring."

She put on her clothes again and followed him. Negi had taken up a map of the campus and drawn a six-edged star around the world tree. They walked to the nearest tip of the star, which was the stairs in front of the tree. When they had reached the stairs Negi placed out a bunch of crystals so that they formed a pentagram. Due to the fact that it was early in the first day of spring break the entire area was empty. He stated chanting softly and some of the crystals began to glow. He picked up a notebook and wrote down which of them that shone.

"What are you doing?" Asuna asked.

"I'm trying to see how the ley lines of this place is shifting."

"Ley lines?"

Negi thought for a few seconds and said. "Think of them as the planet's magical blood system. Magic isn't spread evenly across the world and at some places there are so big differences that the planet forms these ley lines to try to balance it all out. Since the flow of magic is affected by all kinds of magic I can by reading the flow of them get clues to which locations is the most probable for the components. For example these stones," he pointed at two of the crystals that formed the ring around the star, "show that along this line there is somewhere a large amount of fire magic. Though it might very well be on the other side of the world since the lines intertwine with each other."

"Sounds like some kind of physics experiment."

"You are more right than you know." Negi said, "Physics is all about understanding the natural laws while magic is about breaking and bending them and at the same time understanding the supernatural laws."

Asuna leaned against the wall and pondered on what he said. "If you look at it that way magic becomes kind of boring. I thought it would be more… well, action in it."

Negi chuckled at her words, "There is action Asuna-san, do you remember what I said about razing a building?"

"Well I've been wondering about that, did you mean that? This far I haven't seen you do anything of that kind."

"I am a teacher Asuna-san, there isn't much need for me to destroy things now."

"What about the statue at Library Island?" She remarked dryly.

"I didn't have my ring." He decided to explain it more in detail, "Magic isn't natural, it's supernatural. And humans are natural beings, this create a barrier of sorts between humans and magic. In order to get through it you need help."

"This help comes in two shapes: First we have the activation key. The activation key is a short chant used to draw magic inside you and make yourself supernatural for a short while. In the beginning you use a standardized chant and when you graduate from the mage's academy you get your personal chant. It's unique for every wizard and allows for much more powerful magic."

"Then we have the "wand". Usually people use a wand or staff with magical properties to be able to use spells. It works kind of like the transmitter in a cell phone. A staff or a wand is the most usual shape since it's large enough to contain the necessary items to make the spell work. I use a ring since I can't use martial arts clutching a stick. It's much harder to create but much more versatile."

"These items aren't always necessary though. If you are good enough you can use magic without both the magical item and the activation key. I can use most of my magic, with an exception made for the most powerful spells, without chanting but I still need the ring."

"Okay…" Asuna blinked, "Seems like magic is much more complicated that I thought."

Negi just smiled.

* * *

After an hour the process was over and they were heading back home. By chance they passed a café and Asuna suggested that they should eat breakfast there. Negi agreed and they walked in. As they were eating Asuna spoke up again. 

"Can I ask you about something?" She said hesitantly.

"Sure." Negi answered.

"How did you get all those scars?"

Negi had hoped she'd forgotten about those.

"I think I told you the first day that I was a combat mage." He answered evasively.

"But didn't you say that you had just finished school." She asked him. "And you look like you've been in a war. Is the magic world that dangerous?"

"Not really," He answered, "I'm a special case."

"How?"

"I had to run away from home when I was ten due to the fact that my father's enemies had sent demons to kill me. And after that I didn't return home before only half a year ago."

Asuna just stared at him. "Y – you're pulling my leg here aren't you?"

Negi shook his head. "No, my life since ten has been to travel and fight to survive. And it still is that to a certain degree. I told you about my father right? I'm still looking and the ritual I'm preparing is a part of my search."

Asuna fell silent and digested what he had said. They didn't speak anymore as they left the café.

* * *

The next day as Asuna was doing her deliveries Negi was using the data he had collected around the world tree to get a better picture of where the components were. He had already managed to determine one location that had nearly 97 percent possibility of the item to be there. Even better was that it was close too, about thirty miles inland. 

Asuna who entered the room interrupted his research.

"Hey, Negi!" She yelled.

"What?"

"What this supposed to be?" She held out a letter. "Airmail from "the magic school" in England. Shouldn't they be more subtle with these kind of things if they want to keep it all under wraps?"

"Don't worry," Negi took the letter, "It's enchanted so that normal people can't read it."

"Then why can I read it?" She asked, "Aren't I "normal" or what?"

"What?" Negi thought she had understood, "You haven't figured it out? You are immune to magic, that's why I couldn't wipe your memory the first day."

"Immune to…" Asuna blinked. "How did I become that?"

"No idea," Negi lied as he opened the letter, "But it's extremely rare." The image of his sister appeared in the letter.

"Hi Negi", it said, "How is things with you? I heard that you have become a full teacher now, congratulations."

"That's my cousin Nekane," Negi said, "She's that one that took care of me when dad disappeared."

"Wow," Asuna said, "A talking letter, so that's your cousin huh?"

"I hope that things work out for you, both the teaching and the other things." Nekane continued, "Which reminds me," She blushed slightly, "Have you found a partner yet? Perhaps I'm jumping the gun here but seeing how you have grown it would be strange if you wouldn't find one soon. I just hope that whomever you find will be a lovely girl." She smiled. "Well, I think that was everything. Good luck Negi, I love you." The image froze as the message ended.

"Hey;" Asuna said, "What's that about a partner eh?" She grabbed his head and started to knuckle rub his hair, "you have a fiancé somewhere or what?"

"Ow, ow," Negi pulled out of her grip, "no, no, nothing like that. A partner is someone you create a magical link to. It comes from a legend amongst us about a sorceress who saves the world and a knight who defends her. It's a tradition that mages who are active in society, for example do things like my journeys, choose someone to act as their bodyguard and companion. A, for lack of better words, mate who will accompany them."

"Okay…" Asuna said, "Is it always a female/male pairing?"

"Usually yes, men and women complement each other well since they have different priorities. And then the handsome hero wants the beautiful heroine and vice versa. A partnership often ends with marriage"

"So it is a lover then." Asuna smirked, "Are you going to start seducing the girls in the class now eh?"

"Well you do have thirty girls to choose from." A voice said. It was Konoka who had come back from the grocery store. Negi's heart stopped.

"Konoka?" Asuna yelped, "Wh-what did you hear?"

"The part about a perfect partner." She said, "So what's in that letter?"

"N-nothing!" Asuna hid it behind her back. Konoka ran to the door and shouted,

"Hey everybody, Negi came to Japan to find a…!" Negi, who had put his hands over her mouth, prevented her from saying any more.

"Thank you Konoka-san!" He hissed, "That's one headache I don't need!"

"Take it easy Negi-kun," she giggled, "I was just kidding."

Negi let her go cautiously, if he knew anything about the rumor mill in this place it was that it worked at full power and would have twisted Konoka's shout into a rumor about him being a prince in search of a princess or something equally ridiculous and spread it all over school in twenty minutes straight. Konoka had only put away the groceries before she left the room again.

"Well I'm off again, grandfather wanted to see me about something."

"Is it about "that" again?" Asuna asked.

"Maybe," Konoka answered, "See ya."

"That?" Negi asked.

"Never mind," Asuna said offhandedly.

* * *

Later that day Negi was walking through the campus. He had been to the Male High School division to use their swimming hall. With the aid of his magic he had made the water heavy as lead to give him extra training. He could only do ten lengths straight but the training was all the more effective. With normal water he'd have to swim for hours to get the amount of exercise he needed. He walked by the school building when he saw a girl in green kimono. She was running into the building as if someone hunted her. Negi decided to follow her. He caught up with her in the locker rooms and saw who it was. 

"Konoka-san?" She was dressed like the princess in some Japanese legend.

"Negi-sensei?" She said, "You've got to help me!" She said looking over her shoulder.

"What's the matter?" Negi asked. Had the headmaster's enemies tried to kidnap her? He slipped the magical ring onto his finger.

"Konoka-sama." A voice came from outside. "Where are you?"

"They've found me!" Konoka said, grabbing his wrist, "We've got to run." She pulled him off into the corridors. Negi took the lead and took her to their classroom. When they had entered he looked to see if they were followed.

"What's happened Konoka-san?" He asked, "Why are those men following you."

She explained and Negi nearly facefaulted.

"You're an o-miai?" He asked cursing his paranoia.

"Yup, it's kind of my grandfather's hobby. He's always forcing his recommendations on me. Since it's just the two of us he's determined to find me a fiancé. Today I had to take my picture for a o-miai; I escaped in the middle of it."

"B-but you are just fourteen." Negi said, He had thought that tradition had disappeared.

"Yeah; it's too early for me to find a husband. I'm still a kid, look at these guys. Why do I have to find a husband now?" She took out a series of papers with pictures of different guys. The papers looked like résumés for a job application listing education, age and more. Some of the men were more than twice her age.

"You shouldn't," Negi said, "I understand perfectly well what you mean, this is ridiculous."

"Speaking of that." Konoka had a thoughtful look on her face. "Weren't you looking for a partner too? If that's so then – more than any of the guys my grandfather chose – I'd prefer you as my partner."

"What?" Negi stared at her; that came out of nowhere.

"Why not?" She smiled, "You are cuter than any of these guys and you're the right age too. Some say that foreigners mage the best partners."

"Ehm… well…" How was he going to deal with this situation?

"Tell you what." She said, "I'll help you determine your ideal partner."

"How?"

"I'm the president of the fortune telling club, remember?" She said and sat down by one of the desks, "now sit down and give me your hand."

Negi did as she said; he might as well indulge her. Konoka took his hand and got a focused look on her face. She traced the lines in his hand with her index finger and furrowed her brow.

"It… she is near." She said, "You already know her… Her fate is…" She trailed off. "There is something more her but I can't see it, it's strange…"

Negi looked at her. She seemed much more genuine than he had thought. He gently sent some magic into her body to aid her.

"She it tormented," Konoka said, "She has no past and no future," Her voice was sounding more and more distant, "She is bound and you want to bring her freedom. You fight so hard for her even when you must fight yourself. You go up against her jailor. He… he's… he sees me!" She started to tremble. "He's here!" Negi pulled back the magic immediately but the trembling continued and she started to hyperventilate. Her eyes where filled by terror. Negi cursed, placed his fingers against her temples and sent a spike of energy into them. She fell into unconsciousness and Negi caught her before her head hit the desk. This was much more than he had expected.

The situation worsened by the fact that he heard footsteps outside. Her potential partners had entered the building in search for her. He opened the window and jumped out of it with her in his arms. As he flew through the air he twisted and landed on the roof of another building with Konoka in a firm grip. He ran off towards their apartment with full speed cursing himself for being an idiot. Why hadn't he realized this earlier? She was the grand daughter of Konoemon Konoe and the daughter of Eishun Konoe; of course she would have magic powers, they were only dormant and now she had stared into the eyes of Malfeas. He would have to wipe her memory of this incident to ensure that she didn't remember anything. If she did she might very well go insane. He landed outside the dorms and ran inside. This would take lot of work.

As he entered his apartment Asuna saw him carrying Konoka.

"What has happened?" She asked, concern evident on her face.

"No time to explain," Negi said, "Go to my desk and get the scrolls with the green thread around them. Hurry!" He carefully put Konoka down on the sofa and took the scrolls Asuna had taken out. Breaking one of the wax seals he told Asuna to close the door. She did so and Negi started chanting in Latin. He continued to chant for the better part of a minute and when he finished Konoka was covered with a green glow. The glow sank into her body and Negi carefully removed the magic her had placed in her temples. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

"Negi-kun?" She said weakly, "What happened?"

"Don't worry about that Konoka-san." He said gently, "Go back to sleep now." She closed her eyes and fell asleep in a few seconds.

"What's the matter?" Asuna whispered angrily, "Are you going to tell me why you come home with Konoka unconscious?"

"I messed up." Negi answered truthfully. "She tried to read my future and I decided to give her a little magic aid. Thanks to that she saw too much."

"What do you mean?"

"She saw something not meant for humans to see." Negi answered vaguely.

"Great job mister wizard," Asuna walked up to Konoka and lifted her from the sofa. "Aren't you going to accidentally blow off her clothes too?" She carried her friend to bed and started to undress her. "Look away and if you peek I'll punch you." She said.

Negi sighed miserably and turned around. He really was an idiot. He had nearly doomed Konoka to a life of madness. What kind of wizard was he?

But there was another thing that weighted even heavier on him. Konoka's reading had said that a girl without past and future was his partner. Someone he already knew, a bound girl he sought to free. That could only be Asuna. He looked at her and sighed. Did Konoka's reading mean that it was impossible to release her? Was his goal only a pipe dream? He started to feel despair again. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he failed.

* * *

A/N: Here's chapter 15. Sorry for the delay, I've been having problems with my internet connection.

As always; read and review.


	17. Darkness within, darkness outside

**Chapter 16: Darkness within, darkness outside**

A/N: Warning, this chapter has some dark sexual content in it. It's one of the reasons i had to change the rating to M.

* * *

As the spring break ended Negi was in a very poor mood. His mistake with Konoka and the bleak vision she had given of Asuna's future had made him everything but cheerful. He started wondering if there was any point in preparing the ritual. As he realized what he was thinking of he shook his head and pushed the thoughts away. He couldn't give up, not now. He had to have hope.

As he was saying hello to the class again he noticed that one of the girls stared at him with an intense gaze. Number 26, Evangeline A.K McDowell. Her eyes were cold and hard and they seemed to analyze his every move. His thoughts were interrupted when Shizuna came in and told him that his class was scheduled for body measurements. He decided to try to get himself into a better mood.

"Okay everybody," He yelled clapping his hands, "You heard her, time to get naked girls." He waited for a few seconds and looked at their faces before adding. "Oh… eh, perhaps I should leave then, eh, yeah, sorry." He beat a hasty retreat and heard how the class laughed and yelled that he was a pervert.

* * *

As he waited outside the classroom listening to the class' jokes and gossiping he felt how his spirit lifted. Those girls were the embodiment of high spirits and it was nigh impossible to be depressed around them. He was truly grateful for being their sensei. Amongst the gossiping he heard them saying something about a vampire at Cherry Blossom Street. He smiled at the ridiculous thought. Suddenly Ako came running.

"Sensei, Sensei!" She shouted, "Something awful has happened. Makie… Makie is…!" The girls burst out of the room asking what had happened. Negi was so filled with alarm that he didn't even notice that they all only wore their underwear. Ako dragged him to the sick room where Makie lay, unconscious, in one of the beds.

"What happened?" He asked directly when he saw her.

"She was found unconscious on Cherry Blossom Street." Shizuna said. "We don't know what happened but she appears unharmed."

The girls were speculating on natural causes. Perhaps she had drunk some sweet sake and fallen asleep. But Negi felt the small current of magic in her. He kneeled by her side and felt her pulse. With each heartbeat came a small wave of magic. That meant the magic was in her blood. He then noticed two small pinpricks of magic in the side of her throat. That could only mean one thing.

A vampire.

Negi suddenly felt anger, even rage. One of those disgusting parasites had dared to assault his girls! How dared it even go near them? He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he rose and turned to the girls.

"There might be a natural reason but I won't take any risks with this." He said keeping his voice calm. "From now on; don't go outside alone in evenings. Always walk in groups, at least two, and keep to the well-lit roads. If someone tries anything, scream. That way you will draw attention to yourself and hopefully scare the attacker away. Okay girls?"

"You don't think that someone tried to…?" Ako asked nervously.

"As I said I won't take any risks."

"Now, now Negi-sensei." Shizuna said gently, "There is no need to frighten them. Mahora is a safe place. She probably just caught a cold and didn't have the strength to get home."

"Yes, perhaps you are right," He said, "I'm probably just overreacting." There was no way to explain what he knew without giving away the secrets of magic. And as much as he loathed doing it using the students as bait might be the only chance of drawing out the bloodsucker.

"What's the matter Negi?" Asuna asked as they headed back to the classroom.

"It's nothing." Negi wasn't about to involve her with this. A vampire was bad news in any situation. "I just remembered something I got to do. I probably won't be home for dinner, so don't wait for me okay?"

* * *

That evening Negi hid in one of the trees surrounding Cherry Blossom Street. Using a trick Katsu had taught him he suppressed his presence completely and at the same time extended his senses to encompass everything within a radius of a few hundred feet. The street was empty and calm. Nothing to be concerned about thus far. As he looked at the sky he noticed that the moon was full. During this time of the month the vampires' cravings and powers were at their strongest. That made it easy to think that the vampire who had assaulted Makie probably had been unable to control his desires. But Negi knew better; if that had been the case Makie had been an exsanguinated husk by now. The vampire he would face now had to be strong enough to have the level of control where he not only allowed his victims to survive but also even healed their wounds. That would mean an old and skilled vampire.

He picked up a presence on the street. It was slowly heading his way, apparently a student since she was humming to herself that she wasn't scared. As the presence neared the middle of the road Negi suddenly picked up another being. This one was standing on the streetlight and spoke up when the student approached.

"Number 27, Miyazaki Nodoka," It said with a female voice, "Books and blood have one thing in common," It continued, "They are both "red"."

Nodoka screamed and Negi felt the rage return. Activating his Cantus Bellax he leaped out on the street and fired a swarm of air magic arrows against the vampire. It was a small girl wearing a long cloak and a broad brimmed hat in black. She pulled out a pair of catalysts and used them to parry the spell. A vampiric mage! Negi ran up to Nodoka who apparently had fainted from the shock. When he looked at the vampiress he saw that it's hat had blown off and he saw who it was.

"Evangeline-san?!"

"Nice spell sensei," she said mockingly, "You really are his son aren't you?"

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded.

"Do you even bother to ask?" She raised an eyebrow. "There are bad and good wizards in this world. Guess which I am!" She threw a swarm of catalysts at him and summoned a powerful disarming spell. Negi barely managed to block it before it tore Nodoka's clothes to shreds.

"Negi?" Asuna's voice came from behind, "What 's going on?" She and Konoka came running. Negi swore and looked back at them.

"What are you…?" Konoka stared at Nodoka, "Are you the vampire?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Negi snapped and turned towards Evangeline only to see that she had already disappeared, Negi could feel her running away at high speed. "Take care of Nodoka-san!" He yelled at them, "She's only unconscious. I'm going to get the one responsible for this. Go home!"

"Wait a second!"

"Go now!" He roared and ran after Evangeline at full speed. He caught up with her near one of the bridges and she leapt off the side of it and flew away. Negi jumped too and flew after her. He was at a slight disadvantage in the air since he couldn't move as swiftly there as on the ground, his only means of speeding up would be mid-air shundo and it was too draining to allow any extensive use but from what he had seen thus far she had virtually no innate power and needed to use catalysts for her spells. That meant she still was weaker than him. He summoned a swarm of spirit copies and sent them after her. When she blocked them with the catalysts he used a mid-air shundo to appear in front of her and with a wind spell he tore off her cloak, he had been right in his assumption that it was a summoned cloak that she used to fly. She fell onto a rooftop and Negi landed in front of her. She looked at him with a mocking smile.

"Well done sensei, now what? Are you going so spank me for being a bad girl?"

Negi felt the bile rise again and he gritted his teeth. "Shut up now unless you want to face dawn nailed to this roof." He hissed.

"Ooohh!" Evangeline continued in a deriding tone, "Is sensei a widdle angwy?" She asked him.

Negi saw red and charged at her with a roar of anger but was intercepted by a hand that caught his wrist. Strong arms that rendered him immobile suddenly grabbed him.

"Let me introduce my partner," Evangeline said with a smirk, "Student number 10, Chachamaru Karakuri." The girl in question was holding him from behind, locking his arms in a powerful and inescapable grip. "I suppose you understand now why so many seeks a partner."

"I apologize Sensei," Chachamaru said calmly, "My mistress commands are absolute." She grabbed his head and turned it to the side. Evangeline stepped up to him and her smile grew predatory.

"Time for the real explanation." She said, "This is the work of your father, the Thousand Master, he defeated me fifteen years ago and put this curse on me. Since then, I've had to spend all these years with a bunch of ditzy junior high school girls!" She yelled the last part. "There is only one way to break this ridiculous curse." She continued, "You have to drain the blood of the mage who put the curse on you, or one of his relatives. Guess who the lucky person is." She drew nearer him. Negi realized he had no chance to escape and decided to take her with him. He started to laugh as he pumped his veins full with thunder magic. She stopped and glared at him. "What's so funny?" She asked, "Am I fulfilling some long hidden dream of yours?"

Negi grinned evilly at her. "No, you see I found my father's journal about a year ago. He did mention something about cursing a sawed-off pipsqueak. But I didn't realize she was this sawed-off." He finished with an amused voice. It was a lie but it had given him time to fully charge his blood and angered her to the level where she would drain him as fast as she could. The magic in his blood would burn her to a crisp. He eyes lit up with rage and she sunk her fangs into his throat. _"See you in hell bitch."_ He thought but before she had sucked anything a foot came out of nowhere and kicked her away from him.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Asuna yelled as Evangeline skidded over the roof. Negi stared at her. How did she get here that fast?

"Asuna!" Evangeline hissed. "The number one troublemaker, figures."

"What the…? What do you think you are pulling here?" Asuna asked when she saw that the vampire was Evangeline. "What kind of lame trick is this?"

"You kicked me in the face!" Evangeline held her cheek. "I'd watch my back from now on if I were you." With that, she and Chachamaru flew away. Asuna stared after them before she turned to Negi.

"What the hell did you think of?" She asked, "Running off after her like that? If I hadn't been here you would have been dead by now."

Negi sighed and relaxed. He immediately realized his mistake as the magic left his veins and coursed through his body. He screamed as he fell down to the ground. He gritted his teeth and tried to regain control over it. Asuna kneeled by his side with a horrified look on her face. Eventually Negi regained control and dispersed the remains of his magic. He gasped for air as he tried to get up again. He slipped but Asuna caught him and put his arm over her shoulders to support him.

"You idiot," She continued, "Who do you think you are? Superman? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Negi wasn't sure he could answer that question. The pain had cleared his head and one question now burned in his head. _"What is wrong with me?"_

* * *

As a new day arose Negi tried to get out of bed. His entire body was sore from the magical backlash the previous night. He was just glad the damage wasn't worse as he stretched his body trying to get rid of the ache. He met with limited success and had to run to school with his body tormenting him all the way. The girls were their normal energetic selves and Makie had recovered completely and had no memory of the incident. The only girls not present were, not surprisingly, Evangeline and Chachamaru. The latter came in through the door just before the lesson and told him that "her mistress" was skipping his lessons in protest. Negi didn't have the strength to argue.

As the lesson proceeded his mind drifted off to his problems time and time again. Konoka's grim prophecy had nearly broken his spirit and now he had to deal with a vampire. And on top of that he seemed to be loosing control. It was as if the taint had broken through the seal. He suddenly got a terrifying suspicion and after assigning one of the girls a long piece of text he dived into his soul with deep meditation. He rushed towards the center of his being and he was frozen with fear when he saw a small hole in the seal through which the taint was slowly seeping. The seal had been weakened! Negi's mind reeled as he tried to understand it. Only he could have weakened that seal.

The truth hit him like a ton of bricks. He suddenly remembered the time when he thought that he had failed to push his class out of the last place before the spring holidays. With that memory came those of the voice that had taunted him and tempted him to accept the dark powers. He tore himself back into reality and heard how the lesson ended. The girls looked at him with worried looks on their faces.

"How are you sensei?" Ayaka asked.

"N-nothing," Negi had to use all his willpower to keep his voice even. "I just didn't get any sleep last night." He rose from his desk and bowed. Stopping momentarily by the exit he grabbed the doorpost and felt the despair swallow him. He continued forward, not hearing the girl's concerned whispers, and turned his steps towards the dorms. Asuna caught up with him and looked at him.

"Seriously Negi:" She said, "What's the matter, you look as if your entire family had been killed. Don't worry about Eva, if she tries anything I'll help you to knock her out."

Negi tried to smile but failed. He couldn't tell her that pure evil hade infected him and that he had been stupid enough to release it from its prison. This had damned him. The Shinmei-ryu would not restore the seal. He had opened it and they would see that as a proof that it had affected his mind and made him unreliable. Their rules clearly stated that the only option for him now was death. He was so deep into the pit of despair that he failed to notice that he had fallen behind Asuna. Two pairs of hands suddenly grabbed him and blindfolded him. They carried him off and he felt how his clothes were torn off until he had only his underwear on. He acted on instinct as he laid an illusion spell over his scars. The blindfold was removed and he was thrown forward and landed in water. He got up and sputtered trying to clear the water out of her eyes.

"Hi sensei!" A choir of voices shouted. Negi spun around and saw the girls standing in the water in their swimming clothes. He was mobbed as they all waded up to him and surrounded him.

"We saw that you were down so we decided to cheer you up." Sakurako said. The girls had fixed, in only a few minutes, both food and drink and Negi was handed a glass of sweet sake by Ayaka, who smiled at him. Negi was more or less forced to empty it by the girls who surrounded him and started washing him. Even if he was definitely not in the mood to party he just didn't have the heart to leave and glass after glass went down.

Suddenly Negi started noticing things he had forbidden himself to think of. His eyes were drawn to the girls' bodies. There was the entire range from Chizuru's well-developed and seemingly adult body to the Narutakis' undeveloped. He started to think of how it would be to have them. His mind jumped from one girl to another and one second he was envisioning taking the Class rep and another he saw himself with the cheerleader girls. He was unable to stop the fantasies as the alcohol destroyed his self-control and the taint aggravated his lusts. His desires became darker and darker until he saw himself raping his students one after one only to leave their beaten and violated bodies in darkness when he was done with them.

_"Take them!"_ The voice whispered,_ "They said that they wanted to cheer you up didn't they? And you know that they are attracted to you. Takamichi said you were handsome and they agree. They would be honored."_

_"No!"_ He screamed mentally. _"They don't want that!"_

_"Liar."_ The voice taunted him. _"Or have you forgotten."_

_Flashback:_

_Negi was walking down the world tree stairs when he heard the voice of some of his girls below the platform. They seemed to be in a discussion with some girls from other classes. Negi knew he shouldn't but stopped to listen in._

_"Yeah, he is real cute but I know someone better." The voice of Makie came drifting._

_"Better than Serizawa-san?" A girl whose voice he didn't recognize said, "Yeah right."_

_"Well if you don't believe her then take a look at this photo and weep." The cocky voice of Kazumi said._

_"Oh my god!" Several voices exclaimed and a wild discussion erupted. Apparently the girls considered boy on the photo to be the incarnation of cute._

_"Wait," A girl said, "Why should we weep?"_

_"He's our homeroom teacher!" Several of his girls said in chorus. Negi blushed fiercely and beat a hasty retreat._

_End flashback._

_"They want you."_ The voice's words were sweet as honey. _"And you want them. Don't lie to yourself."_

_"I'm their sensei!"_

_"And?"_ The voice asked, _"They would never betray you. Make them yours; you could make them your servants with a single spell. You would have them all and they would be in ecstasy over being with you."_ The girls had started to soap him and their hands were running over his skin making it harder and harder to deny his cravings. The images only became stronger and stronger.

_"Ah… Ah… Ahh! N-Negi-sensei!" Negi felt Ayaka twist under him, his magic running through her head whipping her into an aroused frenzy. He pounded deep into her with all his strength, his hands holding her arms pinning her to the ground. With one final thrust he came into her and groaned as his fingernails dug into her hard enough to draw blood._

They became darker...

_"M-more… More!" Makie groaned as he pinned her down and pushed into her, her virginity torn apart by his savage thrusts. Negi grabbed her hair pulling her head backwards and bit into her throat. Her scream of pain and the taste of her blood only making him even more aroused._

And darker...

_Nodoka whimpered as Negi tore her clothes off and forced her down. His magic forced her to act against her will as she took him into her mouth and started desperately working on him. His hands dug into her hair and held it as hard as he could as he heard the girl sob as both her body and mind was violated. He tore her off and forced her down on her belly and pushed into her. Her tears fell to the ground together with the blood of her innocence._

The images sickened him, made him physically ill, but at the same time his desires, no longer natural but turned into something foul and twisted slowly gained ground. The spell came unbidden as his instinctively let the magic extend through their minds. Carefully, carefully he started to hypnotize them. As if in a trance he reached out for them. They now stood still, their eyes unfocused, ripe for the taking. Suddenly some of the girls jerked, snapped back into reality, as if they had gotten a shock.

"Hey Negi-kun." Makie said, "What are you doing?"

"How's he doing it?" Sakurako asked. "You rascal!"

Negi pulled his hand back. "I haven't done anything!" He said truthfully. He hadn't have time.

Makie jerked again and her hand flew down into the water to catch something.

"Got you, you pervert." She yelled but paused. "What's this? Something long… and it's furry." She took whatever she held out of the water and when she saw what it was she screamed.

"A rat!" Chaos erupted as the girls fled the field. The "rat" burst into life again and started zipping around with incredible speed tearing at their clothes. Negi turned away and heard Asuna's voice.

"What the hell is going on here?" She came running and the "rat" dashed towards her but she grabbed a bowl and hit it in mid air. The "rat" flew through the air and when it landed again it dashed off. Asuna looked after it but after a while she noticed that nearly all the girls were completely naked. This spawned a desperate explanation from the girls and much assurance from Negi that he hadn't seen anything. Eventually Negi came out of the bathing hall and back to his apartment. Asuna was looking funnily at him, as if she wondered if he had been the one who tore off their clothes. It was then that Negi heard a voice he had longed after for a long time.

_"What's with the long face big bro? You look like you could use some help."_ The voice of his familiar Albert Chamomile said.

* * *

A/N: I have been given multiple questions about whether this in a NegixAsuna fic or not. I don't want to give away too much but I can say that if only this story would listen to what I said it would be one but as it is now I can't give any guarantees. This thing has it's own life and I can only be the one to write it down.

I CAN say however, that you can expect a brand new pairing in the future, one that never has been thought of before as far as I know.

Anyway, Rate and Review as usual. The beautiful, kind, fantastic and wonderful Jennon-Donnon had reviewed all the six first chapters, learn from this man folks ;-)


	18. Despair

**Chapter 18: Despair **

A/N: I'm a very bad author. I acctually have the story written as far as until the beginning of the festival arc but I've been so damn lazy that I haven't updated in forever. To show of my shame and desire for my beloved readers' forgiveness I will here present TWO chapters.

* * *

The small ermine jumped up at the table with a smile on his face.

"Long time no see big bro." He said. "How's it hanging?"

Asuna had whirled around when hearing his voice and were now staring at the animal on the table.

"A talking ermine," She said simply, "Figures."

"Not only an ermine miss." Chamo stood up on his hind legs and bowed deeply at her. "I am an ermine elf of the noble lineage of the Welsh ermine elves."

Asuna looked at Negi. "You know this guy?"

Negi grinned as he picked up Chamo and put him on his shoulders. "He's my familiar." He said, "That is, an animal companion that I have a magic link to." He continued when Asuna looked puzzled. "Kind of like a partner but still not. Chamo is more like an advisor than a bodyguard."

"Oh, okay." She said, "Wait a second! It was you at the bathhouse!" She suddenly said. "You pervert!" She reached out for him.

"Hey, hey wait!" Chamo hid behind Negi's neck. "I can explain it all! It's…!"

_"No Chamo!"_ Negi thought,_ "I don't want her to know!"_

"It's what?" Asuna stopped.

"It's the spirit in the bathing hall!" Chamo switched immediately. "It was about to try something and I had to scare the girls to get them out of there."

"Spirit in the…? What are you talking about?"

"It's a spirit of perversion." Chamo continued his lies, "Someone apparently thought that it would be fun to sneak in a pervert spirit in the bathing hall. It feeds on perverted thoughts and it was nearly strong enough to manifest and do… perverted stuff with the girls. I had to scare the girls away from Negi and the perverted thoughts they had about him."

Asuna didn't look like she had swallowed but suddenly Konoka entered wearing only a bathing towel. "What's with the noise? Are we having guests?" She squealed upon seeing the ermine and picked it up. "So cute!" She said and hugged it, "Is this your pet Negi-kun? He's so adorable!" She ran out in the hallway with Chamo and called for the other girls. They all found Chamo to be incredibly cute and a wild petting session started.

_"Big bro…" _Chamo thought weakly,_ "Help…"_

"Hey girls." Negi walked out into the hallway and took Chamo from them. "Take it easy, he's a little shy around strangers." He said as he out Chamo back on his shoulders. "If you want to play with him give him time to get used to you."

"Did you just get him?" Konoka asked. "I haven't seen it before."

"No he's been in quarantine." Negi said to the girls. "And for god's sake put some clothes on!" He retreated into his room as the girls realized that they were only wearing towels.

* * *

Negi was standing in the empty bathing hall looking out across the water. Chamo had insisted that they went there to exorcise the spirit. In reality he merely wanted to talk away from Asuna.

"It nearly happened, didn't it?" Chamo asked gravely. "His seeds blossomed didn't' they?"

"It's worse than that Chamo." Negi stared into the water. He told Chamo about how he had started to slip several weeks ago. How he had managed to seal it with the Shinmei-ryu's help. How he had been stupid enough to release it. How he nearly raped his students. When he finished Chamo was silent.

"So there is no way of avoiding it now…" The ermine said sadly.

"No." Negi felt the grief again. He had been such a fool!

"If there was a way to ensure that you'd still be able to free her, would you take it no matter what it was?" Chamo suddenly said.

"I… I don't know." Negi said. "Initially I did this because I wanted to find father but now… I don't want her to burn in hell no matter what… But then what about father…? I just don't know… I don't know anything…"

He stared into haze of the bathing hall. Eventually Chamo spoke up again. "I can't help you right now big bro." He said silently, "I can only advise you to ask yourself if you truly value her life more than your own. And think of your family as well." With that, the ermine ran off, back to the dorms, leaving Negi in the mists.

* * *

Another day had begun and Negi got out of bed. He ate the food Konoka had fixed for him without actually feeling the taste of it. His mind was focused on one thing. What was he going to do? He remained in his sleepwalking state until he reached school. There he was brought out of his stupor by a taunting voice.

"Hello sensei." Evangeline and Chachamaru stood in front of him. "I hope you don't mind if I skip class again today, do you? Class has been a breeze since you took charge."

Negi gritted his teeth and unconsciously spread his feet apart and bent his knees.

"Don't even think about it sensei." She smirked, "The only chance you got is to remain civil within the school grounds. And don't try to talk to Takamichi or the Headmaster about it. Your students might have… accidents if you do." She turned around.

Negi's self control slipped again as the rage returned. His Cantus Bellax went off by itself and he growled. The voice had returned and howled at him to rip the puny girl apart. Evangeline turned her head and her eyes narrowed into slits as she looked at him, power pulsating off him. Chachamaru positioned himself between her mistress and her sensei. He suddenly heard another voice.

_"Big bro!"_ It was Chamo _"Don't do it! Don't give in!_" Using every little bit of self-control he still possessed he forced his rage down and removed the spell. He smiled slightly at Evangeline.

"What's the matter Evangeline-san? Are you so starved for attention that you hope I'll start to scold you?" With that he turned and left. He only wished that he were as confident as he sounded. Asuna stared after the vampiress and her ministra and gritted her teeth.

"That bitch!" She hissed. "How can she can be so arrogant!"

"She's a vampire," Negi said quietly, "The natural enemies of mankind."

"But still! Is there no way that you can get an advantage on her?" She said.

Negi couldn't answer; he was too preoccupied with dealing with his inner demons to pay any attention to those on the outside.

* * *

Negi hid in the bushes and carefully watched Chachamaru as she was making her way through the city. His mercenary experience came yet again in handy as he now attempted to remove Evangeline's numerical advantage. Negi still had his mind filled with thoughts of the taint and allowed his instincts to guide him as he pursued his target. He noticed that Chachamaru had stopped to take down a girl's balloon from a tree. The jetpack she folded out was yet another proof of the validity of his suspicion that Chachamaru was a robot.

He felt the magic pistol under his clothes. It was set to "anti-construct" and would tear Chachamaru apart with just one hit. The Chachamaru that now helped an old lady climb a set of stairs. Negi wondered if she had seen him and now attempted to hold the old lady as a human shield. But seeing as how she dropped her he had to discard that theory.

Suddenly she jumped into the water. Negi cursed and ran up to the edge of the bridge only to see her saving a kitten that had been thrown into the water. As she got out of the water he heard the cheers of the crowd that had witnessed her deed. She put the kitten on her head and disappeared around the corner. He sneaked after her and saw that she had entered a back-alley. Did she attempt to escape but ended up in a dead end?

Negi suddenly heard soft meows from the alley as a group of kittens walked out to her. Chachamaru kneeled and took out a can of cat-food from the bag she had been carrying. Negi saw that she almost smiled as she opened the can and put it out for the kittens. As if god himself wanted to show Chachamaru pure heart a hole in the clouds formed and bathed the alley in golden sunlight. Negi now didn't even think of the taint as he felt tears filling his eyes. He sunk to the ground trying in vain to hold back the tears the now ran freely down his cheeks.

His fingernails dug into his hands and he hissed at himself to stop. If he didn't do this there was no way to ensure the other girls' safety. He took deep breath and wiped away the tears before he walked out to block the only way out of the alley. Chachamaru had risen and were leaving when she saw him blocking her path.

"Greetings Negi-sensei." She said calmly, "Guess I should have paid extra attention. No matter, what do you want?"

"I want my students to be safe." Negi charged at her. She parried his first attack and a wild fight erupted. Negi knew that he should have just pulled out the gun and shot her but he couldn't. He had to give her a fighting chance. After a minute of fighting he got the upper hand and knocked her off her feet. Now he pulled out the gun and put it to her head. His hand shook as he placed the finger on the trigger. "I win, you lose." He said between clenched teeth.

"It appears so." She said, "May I ask for a final favor?"

"What?"

"When I fail, please, take care of the cats."

_"Take care of the cats."_ Negi felt the tears return and the trembling spread to his entire body. His breathing became erratic as the taint roared at him to kill but every fiber of his human being begged him not to. He stood still and tried to choke the sobs the escaped from him.

_"Take care of the cats._" Echoed in his head. He was holding a gun that would end her life instantly. She had no chance of escaping. Her death was as certain as if god himself had declared the she would die today. And she only wanted her cats to be safe.

_"Take care of the cats."_ Her eyes held no fear, no remorse or anger. But they weren't empty either. They showed concern and… pity? She looked upon him as if he was a small child that had been forced to go through something horrible and never would regain his innocence.

_"Take care of the cats."_ Negi broke down and dropped the gun. He ran away from her and launched himself into the air. He didn't know where he flew. Only that he flew. Away from Chachamaru and the place that nearly had become her tomb.

_"Take care of the cats."_ He had been about to murder her! His student! He had been about to execute an innocent being that had had no choice but to obey her cruel master. He felt filthy; he was just as much a monster as Evangeline! A monster!

A demon.

_"Take care of the cats."_


	19. Determination

**Chapter 19: Determination**

* * *

Negi flew through the sky towards the horizon. He had flown for several minutes at full speed and was exhausted. But even as his mind and body was near a collapse he had to continue. He had to get away from the atrocity he nearly committed. He didn't see where he was flying and struck against a treetop. This made him lose his concentration and fall to the ground. Fortunately he hit a pair of branches on the way down which broke his fall enough to ensure that he didn't break his neck when he landed in the boggy water. He groaned as he tried to rise off the ground and when he heard a sound from the bushes he jumped to his feet. There was someone else here. When a figure came out of the underbrush Negi could only stare at the newcomer.

"Kaede-san?"

"Fancy meeting you here sensei." The long girl said.

* * *

Kaede had put up a small camp near a waterfall and it was there she took Negi. His clothes had been soaked when he landed and she had put them off to dry and given him a towel. Negi was now sitting on the rocks and talked with his student.

"So it's here you go when you leave the dorms over the weekends." He said.

"Yep!" She said, "I'm doing… secret training. So what are you doing here in the wilderness?"

Negi didn't know what to answer her. He couldn't tell her he had fled when he couldn't murder one of his students.

"You were just in the area and decided to drop in?" Kaede asked.

"…Something like that." Negi admitted. Though it was more like dropped down. He looked off into the distance.

"You know sensei." Kaede brought him out of his pondering. "You need some training too I think."

"What?" Negi didn't follow.

"If you plan to wander off into the mountains again you should think about learning self-sufficiency. Want to go fishing?"

Kaede's idea of fishing turned out to be slightly unorthodox. She showed him the fishes she used to catch. The fishes were easily frightened and couldn't be caught with your hands. Her idea was to leap over the stream and in mid flight throw a number of kunai at them. Negi just stared at the girl until he remembered her moves at Library Island and his suspicion that she was, like Ku Fei, more than a normal girl. Negi's attempts at fishing were less successful since he never had used throwing daggers before. Kaede gave him the tip to try with a little more "zing" as she called and did an even more impossible leap across the stream, this time standing upside down on the cliffs a second at each throw.

"What are you?" He asked her when they, or rather she, had caught enough fishes. Kaede pretended that she didn't know what he meant as they headed off to pick mountain vegetables. Her method of doing this was so summon shadow clones and thereby working sixteen times as fast. Negi realized that she had to be a ninja, it was obvious that she was a Koga considering that she was from the Koga prefecture, but this didn't add up, he knew that the Koga ninja had disbanded forty years ago declaring that their arts had no place in the modern world. Perhaps they were trying to reestablish their organization but why would they send off one as skilled as her to junior high? It didn't add up. He was so intrigued by her that he forgot all about his problems.

They continued the training for the rest of the day. The training here was according to her to survive. By using advanced ninja arts Negi added dryly in his head but wasn't about to criticize her. As dusk approached they were heading back towards the camp. Negi was drenched in sweat from the "training".

"Perhaps you'd like a bath?" Kaede asked him when she saw the sweat.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Negi looked at the water. "Its still spring and the water will be cold."

"Don't worry about that." Kaede smiled.

It turned out that she had a bathing barrel stashed away in the woods. Negi was put in it and Kaede made up a small fire beneath it. After a short while the water was comfortably warm and Negi sighed contently as he felt that he could relax. Despite that the barrel at first seemed like a cooking pot and that getting into it had felt like jumping into a cannibal stew it was really pleasant and he smiled as he leaned backwards.

"I'm happy you cheered up sensei." Kaede said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you have been on a major downer since the semester started and I was getting worried." Kaede said. "But you have gotten your smile back and that makes me happy."

"It's only because I don't think of my problems now." Negi said somberly. "They are still there. And no matter what I do they only get worse. It feels like I'm stuck in quicksand."

"Hey sensei, don't bum out again." Kaede comforted him. "Everyone run into problems, even adults. The only thing you can do is your best. If you do that no one can blame you for anything."

"It's not that easy, Kaede-sa…"

"Hey sensei, you are the one that told me to not give up, right? I pulled through then and I'm certain you'll do it too. And if you ever are in pain again, come here, I'll have a bath ready for you. Take your mind of things for today and rest. Thinking can wait until tomorrow."

Negi fell silent, humbled by her words. He didn't say anything more that evening. As he fell asleep next to the ninja girl in her tent thinking about her words he realized that he was a hypocrite. All that preaching about not giving up and he had been on the brink of doing it. But the realization didn't sadden him. It gave him clarity in who he was and a chance to better himself. With a small smile he fell asleep, for the first time in days filled with determination and certainty that things would work out only he did his best.

As dawn rose Negi got up and stood outside the tent breathing the morning air. In the tent he had left Kaede a small note thanking her for the food, bath and advice. He lifted soundlessly from the ground and darted through the sky, off towards the horizon and Mahora. He wouldn't run again. His path went forward and had no regrets along it.

* * *

He found Asuna and Chamo outside the school building. They had been worried sick about him and he had to apologize over and over again before Asuna was satisfied. Chamo on the other hand was silent. He looked at Negi with an analyzing gaze and seemed to be thinking of something. Negi decided to ask him about it later.

A more important matter now was Asuna. Negi had decided to not take Konoka's prophecy for the truth. There was always different ways to interpret such things and it could very well have meant that she had no future if he didn't act. As they sat at the world tree café, where Negi had been forced to take her and buy her ice cream in order to placate her, Negi thought about the hints that she was his partner. Konoka's prophecy was only one thing. Perhaps it was fate that she had seen him use Shundo on the first day. Wizards and their partners did attract each other after all.

"Hey Negi," Asuna interrupted Negi's thinking, "You know, Chamo had an idea. He told me that wizards can create these probationary contracts. He said that perhaps I should become your partner in case Evangeline tries anything."

Negi decided that fate, or Chamo, wasn't very subtle.

"He didn't tell you how you create those contracts did he?" Negi decided to tell her since he doubted she would be happy if she weren't told.

"Yes you make this circle and step inside it and then he yells "pactio" and it's done."

"I think he forgot the kiss," Negi said, "You have to kiss the person you want to make your partner. And it has to be a kiss on the mouth if you want the contract to be worth anything."

Asuna's eyes widened

"Hey that can't be a problem," Chamo tried to save his skin; "I'm sure a pretty girl like big sis must have kissed lots of times." He looked at Asuna's uncertain face. "Wait… don't tell me that you don't have any kissing experience. A cute girl like you? Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought you'd have it but if you're afraid due to lack of experience I can understand. "

"What are you talking about?" Asuna said tersely. "I have lots of experience!"

Negi just shook his head. "You are crazy Chamo. Asuna might be strong but she isn't suited for something like this."

"And you were seven years ago?" Chamo said. "Do you want to end up on Evangeline's dinner table? If not then that's the only way. What other options do you have?"

"You'd sure like to know wouldn't you?" Negi blinked.

"What are you up to now?" Asuna looked at him with a suspicious gaze. "If you are planning something tell me."

"No, no," He said, "I'm not planning anything." He didn't lie; his plan was already finished.

* * *

Negi walked through the campus towards the log cabin that lay in the middle of one of the small forest patches that lay all over Mahora. He had been a little surprised when learning about its existence but considering the circumstances he understood it perfectly. The inhabitant of the cabin wasn't the type of individual you would want living amongst other girls.

It was the home of Evangeline McDowell.

He knocked on the door deciding to play teacher as long as possible. When no one opened he went inside the cabin. The abundance of dolls and puppets in the house didn't surprise him the least. Evangeline had been known as the puppet-master before her imprisonment here. She was said to be able to control people without magic and she had also used a large amount of bloodthirsty dolls as her ministra. What did surprise him was that the cabin was meticulously and skillfully decorated. He realized that in order to do something like this she had to be passionate about her craft. The place actually seemed really comfortable. A vampire devoted to decorating the house. Negi shook his head.

"It is a surprise to see you here Negi-sensei," He turned around to see Chachamaru in a French Maid outfit carrying a silver tablet with a teapot on it. "Do you have an appointment with my mistress?"

"No but I was hoping to see her anyway." Negi kept his cool as he bowed slightly. "I hope I'm not disturbing anything."

"The mistress has fallen ill." Chachamaru said, "I will ask her if she is willing to see you."

"Thank you," Negi decided to be honest, "And also, I'm sorry about yesterday."

"There is no need." Chachamaru said, "The fault was mine."

"Just one question Chachamaru-san. Did you say that she had fallen ill?" Negi decided to double check.

"What?" Evangeline's voice came from the stairs. "Does that amuse you?" She was sitting on the railing in a pajama, her nose red and her face pale.

"As a matter of fact is does." His voice turned taunting. "I assumed that no self- respecting germ would come within ten feet of you."

"Very droll sensei." She bared her teeth; Negi noticed that they were lacking fangs. "Tell me something, have you gotten so tired at life that you want to end it now?"

"I'll end it now all right." Negi pulled out the ring and put it on his finger. "Full moon or not, you are going down."

Evangeline pulled out a pair of catalysts and started to weave a spell. Negi held back planning to do a riposte. Then Evangeline suddenly fell off the railing and landed on the floor.

"Mistress!" Chachamaru ran to her side.

"Now what?" Negi stood dumbfounded.

"She has every fever from regular to hay. I'm putting her back into bed." Chachamaru scooped up Evangeline and carried her upstairs. Negi stood still trying to get his bearings. Vampires didn't get sick for Merlin's sake! They were little more than animated corpses! But Evangeline had really appeared ill. He could virtually feel it. Chachamaru came down the stairs.

"I must go to the university and get some antibiotics for her." She said, "But I can't leave her alone when she is this ill. Please sensei; can you help me?"

Negi didn't believe his ears. "What?"

"The mistress is really ill and if she doesn't get her medicine she might not recover. But she needs to be watched in case it gets worse."

"Chachamaru-san…" Negi said slowly, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't let her die."

"She is your student sensei!" Chachamaru said with a hint of horror in her voice.

Negi took up a page he had printed from Magi-net. "Evangeline McDowell: the Dark Evangel, the Puppet Master, the Undying Magi. She is wanted for murder, theft, kidnapping, threatening the veil between the mundane and the supernatural world, etc, etc until you puke. The last bounty on her head before it was removed was six million dollars." He put away the paper. " Even villains wanted her dead. And on top of that she has twice assaulted the other girls. Not a very good starting position is it?"

"Sensei…" Chachamaru pleaded, "I beg you. She is just a child now. And she is dying."

Negi stood still and looked into her eyes. Just a child? How could Chachamaru say something like that? It didn't add up. Golems were by nature subservient and would never say something like that. They were incapable of such thinking.

_"Take care of the cats."_ Flashed by inside his head and he winced. "Fine…" He said, "But make it quick."

"Thank you sensei." Chachamaru bowed and hurried out.

* * *

Negi stood by Evangeline's bedside looking at her. She was tossing and turning. The fever was near 41 Celsius and she was delirious. She muttered incoherently and breathed heavily.

"Burning… hot… make it… go away…" Negi realized that the sun was shining straight at her and he pulled down the blinds. She was warm enough without needing the sun to aid her. In fact, she was drenched in sweat. He grumbled to himself as he changed her clothes. Why did he have to be such a sucker for the helpless and suffering? He simply couldn't stand idle when she was fighting the fever. She started to ramble again.

"Like… sandpaper… so… thirsty…" She whimpered but when Negi tried to make her drink water she wouldn't swallow it. The same went for the other things he came with until the only other liquid he could think of was blood.

Negi pulled back from her. Was all this a trick? He sure wouldn't fall for it. But as she started to wheeze and her lack of liquid became apparent he gave up. Cutting a small gash in his arm he coaxed out a small amount of his blood and poured into a cup that he put to her lips. She swallowed it all and seemed to relax. Negi pulled her blanket over her, sat down by the bedside and looked at her. He couldn't help but feeling a pang of pity looking at her. She looked so small and helpless. It was impossible to believe that she was one of the most powerful villains in history. At her current state she was a heart wrenching sight. She looked more like a little princess on the brink of death. Negi smiled slightly. The rumors about her said that she were hundreds of years old. She might very well have been one before becoming an undead.

Undead, the word troubled him. She couldn't be one. At least not one of the kinds he knew of. She was definitely not a normal vampire seeing as how the sun hadn't incinerated her and that she had eaten lunch at school. There were other things as well that proved that she wasn't one. And the other types of undead was out of the question too since she appeared to be a living human. The other kinds didn't do that.

"What are you, Evangeline?" He said silently.

"T-thousand master…" She suddenly mumbled, "…D-don't… please…" Negi perked up and leaned forward. She was dreaming it seemed. "I-I… didn't…" Negi stared at her as she started to look afraid. Her face was twisted in an expression he only had seen on terrified children. He leaned forward to try to shake her out of her nightmare. Then she sat up and gripped him. He was about to fire off a spell when he saw that she was crying.

"Please Nagi…" She was still delirious. "I don't want to leave you… I…I love you… please don't leave me." She had buried her face into him and was trembling. Negi's mouth hung open. The Dark Evangel had just claimed to love his father! He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and held her.

"Never, Eva-chan…" He said soothingly "Never ever…" Evangeline's sobs ceased and her arms relaxed. He slowly put her back and looked at her. His mind was reeling. What was he going to do now? He buried his face in his hands and sighed. He was so caught up in thinking that he lost all track of time. But when Evangeline suddenly sat up gasping he snapped out of his thinking.

"How are you feeling Evangeline-san?" He asked evenly. He hoped that she didn't remember anything.

"Better." She said slowly, "Look, how about that you leave now and we pretend that this day never happened?"

"She's embarrassed!" Negi thought with quite a bit of amusement. "Yeah sure. Chachamaru-san should be back soon anyway." He heard the door open and decided to leave quickly.

When Negi had exited the cabin and walked along the forest path towards his apartment he decided to do as Evangeline had suggested. This had been one of the most stupid confrontations he ever had experienced. He half expected a TV crew to jump out of the bushes and tell him that he was on Candid Camera.

* * *

Chamo was sitting on the table looking on a small laptop screen when Negi entered the apartment. Negi recognized it as Chamo's personal computer. He didn't know where the ermine stored it neither how he got power to it but it had been with the ermine since they left Wales all those years ago.

"Good that you are back big bro. I have some things to talk with you about." He said as he shut the computer. "Let's go for a walk." Negi picked him up and put him on his shoulder as he walked outside again.

"Now what is it?" Negi asked as he walked along the campus.

"You seem to have regained you composure quite well big bro." Chamo said. "Does that mean that you have decided what you'll do with your problem?"

Negi looked at the horizon. What had he decided? He had decided not to run but then what? He hesitated before answering.

"I'll fight." He said softly, "It's not like I can escape it anyway. I can only go forward from now on, the path behind me has rotted away."

"No matter what you'll have to do? Even if you'll have to damn yourself?"

Negi wondered what Chamo was getting at.

"I'm already damned Chamo, I was damned a long time ago. That's why I have to do it. Either I succeed and at least something good will have come from my life or I'll die without having done anything important with it."

"That was all I wanted to know big bro." Chamo jumped off his shoulder. "I'll be back in a few days. See you." And with that he disappeared behind a tree.

Negi wondered what the ermine was up to. He had never been this secretive before. The ermine might have kept secrets but not like this. He sighed and reminded himself that there was much more to Chamo than met the eye. The ermine was an ancient being that had existed for many, many years. Even if he didn't seem like it he possessed much power and even more knowledge. He could rest easy knowing that whatever Chamo was planning it would be of aid to him.

* * *

A/N: R&R and make Maneyan a happy man 


	20. Showdown in the darkness

**Showdown in the darkness**

* * *

_"Another day, another lesson."_ Negi thought as he entered the classroom. Balancing the preparations for a ritual without equal and teaching a class of mundanes was, mildly put, interesting. Having to live in two worlds at the same time was truly a unique experience. Especially considering that several of the people in his life were present in both. Speaking of present, Negi saw to his surprise that Evangeline and Chachamaru sat in their respective seats. And what surprised him even more was that when they did the bowing routine Evangeline bowed too.

"Glad to see that you could make it Evangeline-san," He said to her. She shrugged slightly.

"The least I could do…" Negi realized she meant because he had looked after her when she was ill. He hoped that this might make her calm down. Hopefully she would feel obliged to return the favor. But he knew enough to not take anything for granted. He would still keep an eye out for her during full moon. As far as he had seen she only became a vampire then. He put that aside and focused on the lesson and the phrase "There is no use crying over spilt milk," that they worked on today.

* * *

After the lesson Asuna came up to him.

"I don't know what you did but it worked." She said. "I never thought you'd get her to class without having to drag her there."

"Neither did I to be honest." Negi admitted.

"You didn't? Well at least we won't have to do that stupid partner thingy now." She was visibly relieved.

"Well… I'm actually pretty disappointed about the whole thing." Negi joked and had to dodge an Asuna kick. "Hey, hey I was joking." He turned serious. "And I seriously hope we won't have to establish one. I won't allow you or any of the girls to be placed in danger because of me." He then saw the girls gathering around a table that sold flashlights.

"What's the hubbub about?" He asked them.

"Haven't you heard?" Haruna said. "There will be a complete blackout tonight from 8 am to midnight."

"They shut down the power twice a year for maintenance purposes." Yue explained.

The girls seemed pretty riled up about it all. The bad weather that had been rolling in was only welcomed since it would add to the mood. Since they wouldn't be allowed outside their rooms most of them had been buying candles and were going to tell ghost stories to each other. They asked Negi if he wanted to join them but Shizuna informed him that he had to look after the dorms and make sure no one sneaked out. For some reason Negi had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

* * *

As Negi walked through the dorms the power went out and the entire campus was covered in pitch-black darkness. Four hours of darkness had begun. He activated the flashlight he had brought along. It would seem strange if he navigated the darkness perfectly without any visible means of aid. After a minute he suddenly felt a spike of energy from the other side of the campus. He looked in its direction but decided to not investigate it. It wasn't inside his zone anyway. He halted when he saw someone standing in front of him. It was Makie. She stood in front of him stark naked.

"Negi Springfield," She said; vampiric fangs visible behind her lips "Evangeline challenges you to battle. Come to the bath house in ten minutes."

Negi stared at his student with despair. She had been turned into a vampiric thrall! Why hadn't he realized that! He should have removed the magic within her when he saw that she had been attacked the first time! He sunk to his knees as he saw Makie leap away yelling

"See ya there, Negi-kun!"

He had failed… Makie was now a thrall to Evangeline who had somehow managed to regain her powers. That must have been the power spike. The dark evangel was back. No matter how confident he was in himself he would stand no chance against the queen of vampires. It was hopeless.

Suddenly he raised his fist and punched himself in the leg as hard as he could. This was no time to be paralyzed. Negi leapt up to his feet and dashed towards his room. He dragged out his equipment and prepared himself. Asuna awoke from the noise.

"What are you doing?"

"We've got problems, big problems." Negi said as he fastened his bracers. "Evangeline has regained her powers."

"What!" Asuna bounced up.

"That's not all of it. She has turned Makie, and possibly other girls, into her thralls."

"Looks like we'll have to do that pactio thing after all." Asuna had climbed out of the bed.

"Are you nuts?!" Negi hissed, "Evangeline is an ancient vampire mage with powers beyond what most mages can dream of!"

"So you were planning on facing her alone? May I remind you how it went last time?" Asuna retorted. "Stop being so stubborn damn it. That's only cute with kids!"

Negi sighed. "Fine." He picked up a series of scrolls. "Get to the academy city bridge and prepare these traps. Put them on the ground and chant, "Awaken, silent killer." I'll lure her there and we'll finish it together. Now stand still." He picked up a piece of chalk and drew a circle on the ground. "Remember that this was your idea," he said, grabbed Asuna and kissed her. The rush of magic that came as the pactio was established only reinforced the tainted cravings that rose within him. His hands tightened around her arms and he felt the twisted desires nearly dominating him. He wanted her, he craved her! He quickly bit himself in the tongue to clear his head. The pain made the cravings disappear. Swallowing the blood he said

"Let's go."

Asuna dashed off with slightly dazed expression on her face. Yep, it had been her first. Negi healed his tongue and flew towards the bathhouse. He quietly reinforced his barriers and prepared a spell with a five-minute delay. He reached for his gun and cursed as he realized that he had dropped it when he fought Chachamaru. Seems like he would have to do this without it. As if the fact that he'd have to hold back because of the taint wasn't enough. If he overdid it the taint would take over. He'd have to remain cold as ice the entire time.

* * *

He landed outside the bathhouse and walked inside. The entire place was saturated by magic. He stepped out on the water and used his magic to remain standing on the surface. That way he'd be able to notice if anyone came at him. When he stood in the middle of the swimming pool a spotlight activated and revealed Evangeline. She had used a glamour spell to make herself look like an adult and Negi stared at her.

She was stunningly beautiful! The curse of vampirism had trapped her in the body of a little girl but this was what she would look like if she could become an adult. As a child she had been small, almost scrawny, but now her body was perfect in every aspect. Her face looked like it had been sculpted by a master artisan. Her long blonde hair spilled down her shoulders and back like a golden waterfall and framed her perfect face in a golden halo. She was dressed in exquisite black velvet clothes that only accentuated her voluptuous body and around her shoulders were draped a cloak of the kind she had used the last time. In every inch she was a predator, a queen of the night. The feared woman who had been the most wanted mage in the world fifteen years earlier.

He swallowed and felt the cravings again. Her mere presence was enough to wake them. She was surrounded by five girls. One of them was Chachamaru. The other four were Akira, Makie, Yuna and Ako. They all had the vacant eyes of a vampiric thrall.

"Ho, ho, ho…" Evangeline laughed softly, her voice sending shivers down Negi's spine. "Still no partner, boy? Are you brave or just stupid?"

"Excuse me?" Negi said loudly, "Have you seen a sawed-off pipsqueak with an attitude problem here?" He had to make her lose her composure, gain whatever advantage he could. "We were supposed to fight."

Evangeline's eyes flashed with anger. "If that's how you want to play it." She made a gesture and the four girls jumped down and attacked him. "Be my guest!" He held his ground and when they were only a foot away he said one word.

"Emittam." The word activated the spell he had prepared and a white cloud erupted from around his feet. The girls were all caught in it and fell to the ground asleep.

"Afraid to break your nails?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at Evangeline as the fog dissipated, "Or are you just a coward?"

Evangeline bared her teeth with a snarl and started chanting, Chachamaru attacked him.

"Please forgive me sensei!" She said as she threw a punch at him. Negi parried it and leapt out through the windows. Evangeline's spell followed him and he sent a swarm of missiles to interrupt it. Just a few feet from the ground he pulled up and flew away with Evangeline hot on his tail. With Chachamaru to engage him up close and Evangeline throwing spells at him he had little chance in a straight fight.

* * *

He flew through cherry blossom street when Chachamaru managed to catch up with him. He stopped in mid air and she flew into him. He grabbed her head between his legs and used the momentum to spin around twice and throw her into the ground with incredible power. That was one of the techniques the Gods' Cry had adopted from the Heaven's Wing. The "Uki-gumo sakura sanka" or "Floating clouds' falling cherry blossom petals" With Chachamaru out of the way he took out five catalysts and started chanting.

"Ras Tel Mascir Magister, Radiance of the sun, king of daylight. Fly through the sky, bring heavenly judgment and burn my enemies. Helios' fury!" A blinding ray of sunlight erupted from his hands and flew towards Evangeline who summoned a jet-black shield that deflected it.

"Not bad, boy!" She yelled, "This will be more fun than I thought!" She unleashed a swarm of arrows yet again. Negi dodged them and dashed into the trees with a shundo. He quickly summoned a series of traps on his way. They were weak but they would fill their purpose. He chanted yet again.

"Ras Tel Mascir Magister, A stream of light to cut through the darkness, spring forth from my hand and throttle my enemy, White lightning! Dilatio effectus." Evangeline and Chachamaru came after him and the explosions amongst the trees told him that they had ran straight into the traps. When the vampiress came out from the trees she had been caught off guard by the traps and didn't notice him. He used shundo again to get in behind her and put his hand on her head.

"Emittam!" The lightning crackled between his fingers and leapt at her. It collided with her barrier in a deafening crack. But when it dissipated he saw that Evangeline was holding his hand. Her barrier was weakened but still up. She punched with enough power to shatter his defenses and send him flying. He realized that he couldn't accomplish anything here and flew towards the bridge. Evangeline followed and unleashed one vicious spell after another. She was good, really good but Negi knew that he could have beaten her if he hadn't had to hold back like this. He took out the card that had been created when he made the pactio with Asuna.

_"Are you done with the traps?!"_ He thought as he held the card against his forehead, _"Think the answer."_

_"Wh-what? Negi?"_ She thought

_"Just do it!"_ He mentally shouted.

_"Yes I've put them all over the bridge."_

_"The one with the red circle on! Where is it?!"_

_"In the middle I think. What's happening?"_

_"I've got a pissed vampire on my tail and we're heading for the bridge, that's what's happening! Hide! And don't come out until I say it!"_

_"Now wait a second, I said that I'd…"_

_"Shut up and do it, damn it! You will help me! Just trust me on this one thing!"_ He pocketed the card as he swooped over the bridge. Evangeline sent an ice-spell against him and he allowed it to hit. He had regained his barrier and it only threw him to the ground. He groaned as Evangeline landed.

"Nice fight, boy." She bared her teeth. "I haven't had such a good opponent in years. But it ends now." She walked against him. "Don't worry though, I won't drain you completely, I'll keep you as my pet."

_"Keep yakking and walking bitch."_ Negi thought as she came close. A swarm of magical chains suddenly burst forth from the ground and grabbed her.

"What the…?" She yelled, "A flytrap spell, we walked straight into it!" Negi jumped to his feet and grinned.

"Game over." He shouted, "I win, you lose."

"Well played kid, you certainly are full of surprises." Then she started laughing. "But I've had fifteen years to plan for this. Don't you think I'd have considered something like this?" A pair of antennae shot out from Chachamaru ears.

"Executing flytrap release program. Release in ten seconds." The robot said.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Negi folded his arms. "You might be in for a nasty surprise."

The chains shattered and Evangeline looked at him. "Like what?" She smirked.

"Like this." Negi grinned as all the traps Asuna had placed across the bridge started to glow and unleashed a cascade of spells that all flew straight towards her. Evangeline's eyes widened and she quickly cast a powerful defense spell. Negi took out Asuna's card and used its magic to summon her. She appeared beside him and looked around.

"What the…?" She said before the spells hit Evangeline's barrier and a huge explosion shook the bridge.

"No time to explain." Negi yelled hurriedly," When I tell you to attack Chachamaru do it! Okay?"

"Okay!" Asuna said.

"I'll explain everything later." Negi said as the spells had hit and Evangeline and Chachamaru came out of the giant dust cloud that had formed.

"That's it, boy." The vampiress hissed, "I'll drain you of every drop of blood and burn the corpse!"

"Let's go Asuna." Negi took up the card. "Contract valid in ten minutes. Negi Magi, Asuna Kagurazaka!" Asuna was engulfed in a bright light as the magic rushed through her.

"Whoa!" She said.

"You take Chachamaru!" Negi yelled to snap her out of her daze. "Evangeline is mine!" He activated the Cantus Bellax and the magic crackled through his body as he poured everything he safely could into the spell. "Make sure she can't fly away. Keep her on the ground!" Asuna obeyed at once and with dizzying speed she ran towards the robot. Negi went for the vampiress and threw a swarm of punches at her. The surprise on Evangeline' face told him that she hadn't expected this. Negi pressed the attack and with a series of lightning arrow enhanced punches he sent her flying. A shundo brought him behind her and he kicked her into the air. He sent a stream of lightning after her and it nearly hit before she flew out of the way. Negi saw that she had a smile on her lips.

"Now this is the son of the thousand master!" She screamed and started chanting. Negi started chanting too. They exchanged spell after spell until Negi realized that she was attempting to exhaust him. He had to overwhelm her. He had to go all out for a few moments. Negi started to chant:

"Ras Tel Mascir Magister, Come wind spirit's that hurl thunder, O thunder blow with the southern storm! Jupiter's storm of thunder!" He heard Evangeline prepare the ice-shadow equivalent of it and when they unleashed their spells the twin spiraling spears collided with each other and a trial of strength began. Negi held up his hands and tried to desperately to push her spell back. He felt his energy slowly running out. She had too much power. She was too strong for him to handle in his current state. He couldn't hold it. His energy ran out and he felt how her spell started to overcome his.

Then suddenly the taint flared up inside him. He couldn't die here; he wasn't going to die here! Unleashing an inhuman roar he instinctively tapped into the taint and his spell gained new power. The bright yellow lance changed and became purple as it smashed through her spell and engulfed her. He immediately cancelled the spell as he realized what he was doing. Evangeline was still holding her position in the sky and she stared at him. On her face was a look of disbelief.

"You…" She said; the glamour had disappeared and she was yet again a small child, her clothes now torn to shreds.

"Mistress!" Chachamaru suddenly yelled, "The power has come back online earlier than we anticipated!" Negi looked at the campus and saw it lighting up. His mind suddenly raced as he realized something. She had been bound to this academy she said. That probably meant an Infernicus scolasticus curse. But that curse wouldn't limit her powers. They had to have created another curse to do that! One that had been kept active with help of the power-grid! That meant that she was powerless now. The vampiress was enveloped in a bright flash as the curse stripped her of her powers. He stared at her as she fell towards the water. She had been almost a hundred meters up. The vampiress would die when she hit the surface. Chachamaru dashed towards her mistress she was too slow. She wouldn't make it in time. She seemed to fall in slow motion as he had a series of flashbacks.

_"Nice spell sensei."_

_"Since then, I've had to spend all these years with a bunch of ditzy junior high school girls!"_

_"And don't try to talk to Takamichi or the Headmaster about it. Your students might have… accidents if you do."_

_"Tell me something, have you gotten so tired at life that you want to end it now?"_

She was a monster. She had had no qualms whatsoever about assaulting his girls and she would stop a nothing to regain her freedom and when she did she would yet again become a scourge upon this world. She deserved death.

_"Burning… hot… make it… go away…"_

_"The least I could do…"_

_"Look, how about that you leave now and we pretend that this day never happened?"_

_"Please Nagi…I don't want to leave you… I…I love you… please don't leave me."_

The final flashback was a memory of Kotaro.

_"Bein' biracial an' all between th' tribes of dog and human I kinda got tossed away. 'Cause of that I was never really accepted by either of 'em. Never 'ave 'ad much in th' way of friends. Even when little I was takin' on all the dangerous jobs – y'know, t' keep eating._

Had she ever had any friends? Turned into a vampire so young, had she ever been happy, been welcome anywhere? Even after hundreds of years she still could fall in love with his father. Would a monster be able to do that? Was her fate like his? Had she too been forced onto a path and not had any chance of getting away from it? Why had his father put her here instead of killing her?

He ignored the taint that screamed at him to let her die, jumped off the bridge and with a mid-air shundo he caught her before she hit the water. He pushed down the taint with all his willpower. Evangeline stared at him with confusion in her eyes.

"Why…?" She asked, "Why did you save me?"

"Three reasons." He said, gritting his teeth, as he tried to keep the taint from taking control. "One: I'm a sucker for the helpless. Two: the power is gone and you are my student again. And three: you are not a monster, you are a human." He landed on the bridge and wrapped his robe around her. "My dad put you here for a reason and I'm not going to question his judgment." He smiled at her as he felt the taint retreating into the dark recesses of his soul. "Now knock off this stuff and come to class. Alright?"

Evangeline stared at him and for a split-second her ice-cold eyes showed something more than contempt. But it disappeared as fast as it had come and her eyes became hard again. Still, though, when she spoke again it was with a considerably less hostile tone. "Fine, you win. I certainly owe you one for today."

"Tell you what Evangeline?" He said, "If you behave from now on I'll find a way to remove the spells that bind you here when I'm done with my assignment."

The vampiress didn't say anything but the look on her face told Negi all he needed to know.

* * *

A/N: I hoped that it didn't would have to come to this but as it is now I have no choice. I've been struggling with a good ending to this story for weeks now. The planned ending will be after the festival arc and what I can't decide is what type of ending it should be or, rather, which direction it will take. What will the focus be on? So I have here given three suggestions and you, dear readers, will be the ones to decide. Give your opinion in your review of the story.

A: Negi's and Asuna's relationship

B: The taint and Negi's fight against it and its source.

C: Other, give your own suggestions.

And seriously, I really need your opinions and I accept anonymous reviews.


	21. Crashing down

Chapter 20: Crashing Down.

* * *

Negi was standing in line to buy coffee. It was the day after the battle against Evangeline and Asuna had told him that she'd consider the debt paid for a coffee. Negi wasn't going to protest. She had preformed admirably managing to hold off Chachamaru during the entire battle. Without any combat experience she was still strong, swift and, most importantly, decisive, enough to keep the robot occupied. That spoke of immense talent. He paid for the coffee and made his way towards the table. On the way he suddenly came face to face with Evangeline and Chachamaru.

"Good afternoon Evangeline-san, Chachamaru-san" He smiled and bowed his head slightly.

"Good day sensei." Chachamaru bowed.

"What's with the chummy attitude?" Evangeline asked sourly, they seemed to be looking for a table.

"It's a nice day." Negi shrugged. "You can share our table if you need somewhere to sit." he continued and made way for his table. Asuna looked with a suspicious gaze at Evangeline when she eventually sat down by their table but Negi shook his head slightly when she looked at him.

"Right." Asuna suddenly said, "You were in love with Negi's father weren't you?"

Evangeline spitted out her coffee and Negi got his in the wrong throat, _"How the hell did she find that out?!"_ He thought.

"H-how did you?!" Evangeline turned to Negi and stared at him with fury in her eyes. He put up his hands and shook his head. She then slumped together, a tear showing in her right eye. "Oh what does it matter, since he died ten years ago?"

"Died?" Asuna looked at her.

"Yes, died." Evangeline got a bitter look on her face. "He promised to someday undo my curse. But then he kicked the bucket and all my hopes of getting out of this existence went out of the window."

"But you never told me that your father was dead." Asuna whispered to Negi.

"Evangeline-san?" Negi said carefully. "He isn't dead."

"What are you talking about?" She snapped. "He is as dead as you can get. If you want I can tell you the time and place of his death."

"I don't need to hear that." Negi said. "He is definitely alive and I have proof of it."

"What proof?" Evangeline looked at him.

"His partner's card still works."

"Partner?! You if anyone should know that he didn't have any partner."

"He didn't have a ministra, true. But you can still create a pactio even if your partner doesn't work as your shield. It was one of the members of his old group. His partner even lives on this campus. Didn't you know that?"

"What?!" Evangeline had a look of horror on her face. "Are you… Are you trying to tell me that Takamichi was Nagi's partner?!"

"No, no, no!" Negi snickered at the thought.

"Then who is it?!" Evangeline was now holding his clothes and nearly strangled him.

"Now, now Eva-chan." Negi said with the most sickenly sweet smile he could. "That is no way for a little girl to act."

The girl slumped back in her seat. "Don't tell me that it's Albreido… I should have known that it would be that androgynous perverted twit…"

"That's not the point Evangeline-san. The point is that my father is alive. I don't know where but he is definitely alive."

"You really mean it?" Evangeline's voice held an undertone of hope. Negi wondered how long it had been since she had felt that. "The Thousand Master is still alive…?" Her lips curved upwards and she suddenly began to laugh.

"I should have known!" She laughed. "Even if you kill him he won't stay dead!"

"She seems happy about it," Asuna whispered to Chachamaru.

"Yes." The robot seemed happy too at the revelation.

* * *

Evangeline continued to laugh as they left the café. When they were about to part ways she suddenly halted.

"Hey Chachamaru." She said. "Give him it."

"Yes master." Chachamaru took out Negi's gun from her bag and gave it to him.

"Hey thanks." Negi became really happy. He liked that gun. "I thought that I'd never see it again."

"Consider it payment for your info bōya." She said still snickering as she left. "I haven't been in a mood this good for fifteen years."

"Sorry for asking but why do you need a gun?" Asuna asked after a while. "From what I saw yesterday you really could raze a building in ten seconds. A gun feels unnecessary with that kind of power."

"Come, let me show you." Negi turned and started walking towards the amphitheatre near the world tree. "I might as well explain some other things while I'm at it." When they came to the amphitheatre Negi saw to his relief that it was empty. Activating the barrier around it he walked out to the center of the stage and told Asuna to sit down.

"Now, as you said I have much more power than any gun could deliver but it's not always a matter of raw firepower." he explained, "No mage has endless magic energy, or "mana", as some people prefer to call it. You need to make good use of the magic you have. A wasted spell means that you are one step closer to being exhausted while your opponent is just as healthy as before. This gun," he held up it, "is a way to conserve energy. Allow me to demonstrate."

He fired off seven magic arrows towards the barrier and just before they were going to crash into it he turned them around so that they flew straight towards him. He lifted the gun, fired at the arrows and shot them all out of the air before speaking up again. "It doesn't take any magic energy for me to use this gun since it powers itself through a magic generator. By shooting down the arrows the opponent will have wasted the energy he put into it without any expenditure on my part. And if I load it with enchanted bullets," He took out the magazine as he sat down beside her, "I can use it for other things as well. These bullets for example," He took out one bullet and held it up for her to see, it was a red-tipped bullet with runes engraved on the cartridge, "are specially designed to take out constructs…"

"What's that?"

"Magically or technologically created beings not made out of flesh or magic energy, but materials like stone, metal or even wood."

"You mean like Chachamaru?"

"Exactly." Negi put back the bullet in the magazine. "If I shot her with one of this her power source would be completely annihilated, her hard drive wiped clean and her entire system overheated to the point where it would melt."

Asuna stared at the gun. "Isn't that a little overkill?" She said uneasily.

"Well, I wouldn't use it on her," Negi said "at least not from now on," he added mentally, "Chachamaru is a special case." He continued aloud.

"How so?"

"Usually constructs are mindless and only have the personality their masters allow them to have. Constructs are often used in fights just because they are mindless and will continue on no matter what. Only complete destruction will stop them and that's why these bullets are so destructive. Chachamaru isn't mindless though. She is just as self aware as the rest of us; she has her own personality and her own likes and dislikes. That's why I wouldn't use these bullets on her. I use them for things without a mind."

"Okay. What other things can you do with it?"

"A lot of things but that's not why I wanted to come here." He reached into his trench coat and took out a card. "It's about this." He showed it to Asuna. It was a white card with a picture of her wielding a giant sword. Around her was a frame with different things written in the corners.

"What the heck?" Asuna looked at it. "What is this?"

"It's the proof of our contract." Negi explained. "It's called a "pactio card" and when you create a contract these cards are created." He took it and put it between his hands. A flash came from between them and when he removed his hands there were two cards. He gave one of them to Asuna. "This is your copy. Keep it with you at all times."

"Hey, hey hold on here." Asuna protested, "I said that I would help you with Eva-chan but that's all. Don't think that I'm going to become your partner permanently."

Negi smiled. "Don't worry Asuna-san. It's just a probationary contract. It doesn't say that you have to become my ministra. A ministra is someone you form a permanent contract with. This is nothing more than a magical variant of co-operating."

"Okay." Asuna took the card and looked at it. "What's with the sword?"

"It's your artifact. When you get one of these cards you get the ability to summon an artifact. In your case it's a sword. Try to summon it. All you need to do is say "adeat"."

"Okay…" Asuna stood up and held up her hands in front of her. "Adeat!" She said and in a flash of magic her artifact materialized.

"What the heck is this?!" She yelled when she saw it. It was now in her hands. Her fingers had instinctively wrapped itself around the handle of a big harisen fan.

"Okay…" Negi sweatdropped as he looked at it. "Seems like you'll need a little more training before you can summon it completely. But don't worry; you can still use it."

"For what? Fanning people to death?" She said sarcastically.

"Not really. That artifact is called the "Ensis Exorcizans" The "evil banishing sword". A hit with this will banish most spirits and summons instantly. Want to try it out?"

"On what?"

"Give me a second." He took out the demon contract and held it to his head. _"Hey Wilhelm." _He thought.

_"Greetings master._" The voice of the demon lord said in his head. _"It's been a while, hasn't it?"_

_"It had indeed. Do you mind if I summon some of your underlings? My partner needs to try out a banisher artifact."_

_"Of course I don't mind!"_ The demon huffed,_ "You are my master and both my servants and I serve you without question. Which should I send?"_

_"Some middle level warriors. She is talented but has pretty limited experience."_

_"Very well. I'll send Grasch'takkoz's pack. May I be so bold as to ask who your partner is?"_

Negi sent an image of Asuna to the demon. _"A Japanese schoolgirl?"_ The demon said, "_I'll tell my servants to remember packing their tentacles."_

_"Pervert…"_ The demon laughed and Negi felt how the card was linked to a group of demons.

"Ready Asuna-san?" Negi asked.

"Eh… I don't know if I want to…" She said.

"If not now then when?" Negi asked. "You will eventually be forced to use this contract again you know. You are a part of my world now and it is dangerous. You need all the training you can get. And don't worry, I'll power you up via the card and your opponents are under my control."

"I know I'm gonna regret this but go ahead." Asuna said.

"Invoking the demonic contract!" Negi shouted in Latin, "Summoning the chosen!" A series of brightly shining symbols appeared of the ground and with a burst of smoke a dozen figures appeared. They were of different shapes and sizes and all of them were obviously not human. In the middle of the group stood a giant, extremely muscular, ogre-like being. This being looked at Asuna and opened its mouth.

"Hubba, hubba!" It said. "I'm impressed boss! You really hooked a cute gal!" Asuna could have sworn it was winking at her.

"I… I'm supposed to fight those things?" She stared at them.

"Don't worry." Negi whispered as he leaned in towards her. "Chachamaru was stronger than them."

"Okay…" Asuna held up her sword. "Let's do this!"

"Contract execution. Duration ten minutes! Negi magi Asuna Kagurazaka!" Negi activated the contract and Asuna was filled with magic power.

"Go get her Rakk." The ogre said and a small kappa-like demon with a long spear dashed forward. It twirled the spear around and when it reached Asuna it rained down several swift strikes at her. Negi was amazed when Asuna leapt out of the way of the attacks.

"She keep's her cool well." He thought as Asuna parried the spear and pushed the demon backwards. When she went on the offensive the demon was hard pressed trying to avoid Asuna's wild swings. Eventually Asuna hit the demon, which exploded in a cloud of smoke as it was banished whence it came. A pair of bird-like demons laughed.

"Man, is Rakk going to be pissed 'cause of this." They cackled.

"Good that you think it's funny." The ogre said. "It's your turn."

The two demons took flight and swooped towards her. They landed at either side of her with wide leers on their faces.

"What'chu gonna do now, Chiquita?" one of them said.

"Hit one and the other has a clear shot at'cha." The other added.

Asuna suddenly jumped into the air and above the first demon's head. She landed and spun around swinging her harisen at it. The demon barely dodged and they both attacked. They were stronger than the kappa but much slower. Still, their teamwork was flawless and Asuna seemed to be in trouble when she suddenly attacked the first demon with her harisen and when the second tried to hit her with it's sword she surprised Negi by kicking it in the face so that it fell to the ground. Asuna's harisen struck home and the first demon was quickly banished.

"Hehehee…" The second said when Asuna turned to it. "I saw your panties." It grinned and followed its partner just a second later.

"Bah!" The ogre said, "Everybody, get her." The eight remaining demons charged at Asuna who this time charged too and banished them all in the matter of a minute.

"You really got a good one boss." The ogre said as it raised its giant club. "I like spunky girls."

"Come and get it!" Asuna yelled as she twirled her fan.

"You got it!" The ogre moved quicker than even the kappa had and swung its club at Asuna who barely dodged. It was obvious that the ogre was the leader of the demons since it pressed Asuna backwards, not giving her a second of rest. Asuna tried desperately to find an opening but failed. Then after a few minutes she managed to leap over its club as he swung it and hit the back of its leg.

"You know girlie? I really had quite fun." The ogre said as it started to fade away. "Next time the beer's on me." It vanished holding one thumb up.

Negi applauded. "Great performance Asuna-san. You are a natural."

"Thanks." Despite being covered is sweat and dust she had a wide grin on her face. "You know? This was actually pretty fun."

Negi suddenly felt the cravings return. Asuna's skin was glistening from the sweat. It made her skirt slightly see-through and her cheeks red. She became even more alluring. Even more desirable to his dark lusts. His gaze became unfocused; he had to use all of his willpower to not act upon them. He sunk down to his knees as grabbed his head. He groaned as he felt his will fading.

"Hey, what happened?" Asuna ran up, kneeled beside him and grabbed him. "Negi, what's wrong?!" Her touch only worsened it and he smacked her away.

"A…suna." He hissed. "Run!" He had to get her to leave! She couldn't stay here!

"Negi what is it?!" She insisted and came to his side again. Negi suddenly felt his will snap under the pressure and he grabbed her. The last thing he was aware of before his mind shut down was Asuna's scream.

* * *

A/N: THANK YOU all for your suggestions and ideas. They were of great aid to me and now the course has been set. Though I won't tell you what path I've chosen, you'll have to read the story to see.

And now for something completely different. If you have ten seconds to spare go to my author profile and go to the link provided there. Don't worry; it's not a virus, I'm not stupid enough to infect my readers.


	22. Oblivion

**Chapter 21: Oblivion**

* * *

Negi floated in a sea of darkness. His entire body was numb and he couldn't feel anything. The only thing he was aware of was an endless self-hatred. He had finally lost it. The taint had taken control of him. He was damned. Asuna would never be freed. Hell, after today she might very well be dead. He might very well have raped and killed her by now.

_"Murderer…"_ a voice seemed to whisper to him

How long had it been now? Time didn't seem to matter in this place. Had it been a minute or a lifetime? How long had he been in this limbo? How much time had passed in the real world? What damage was he wreaking upon the world? He begged silently that someone would be able to stop him. He didn't even dare to think of how powerful he was now. As the son of the Thousand Master he had an almost unrivalled amount of magic power. Add the cursed powers that the taint gave and he might very well be more powerful than even him now. He would be an unstoppable scourge upon the entire world.

_"Demon…"_

In this borderland between awareness and unconsciousness he realized that he had only himself to blame. He had been an arrogant fool. A bloody idiot. He had been so certain of his power and so desperate to find his father that he had ignored the obvious warning signs and leapt right into his trap. And now Asuna and the entire world would pay for his folly.

_"Betrayer…"_

_"Just one more chance…"_ He begged, _"One more chance to correct my mistakes."_

He really was an idiot. The second chance was a human invention. It was a luxury that this situation wouldn't give him.

_"Please…"_ he thought, _"Kill me. Someone. Don't let me become one of them."_ It seemed like he would be remembered as an evil scourge. The world would praise his father's name and curse and fear his.

_"No…"_ He thought. _"No!"_ He wouldn't give up! Not here! He focused his mind and tried to get his bearings. Whatever place he was in he would get out! He screamed mentally as he forced himself to move. To act. He dug deep in his mind and remembered his desire to save Asuna, his friendship with Kotaro, his admiration of Takamichi, everything that had mattered to him. He held on to his memories and remembered how he and Kotaro had aided a village that had been flooded. They had managed to rescue all of the villagers. But then one of the women saw that her son was missing.

_Flashback:_

_"What th' hell are you doing?!" Kotaro yelled as Negi dived back into the water._

_"The boy!" Negi yelled, "´He's still there!" Negi dived below the surface and into the flooded hut. Below a fallen support beam a boy lay, perhaps only five years. Negi activated his Cantus Bellax and lifted the beam off him. He felt his air running out as he dashed towards the exit and the surface, holding the boy._

_Five meters left, he felt himself growing numb. The boy weighted him down._

_Four meters, he had to hold on to the boy!_

_Three meters, his grip around the boy started to slip; he was too weak to hold on._

_Two meters, No! He wouldn't allow the kid to die here._

_One meter, so close and yet so far away. He reached out for the surface but didn't have the strength to reach it. But a hand broke the surface and grabbed his. It pulled him and the boy out of the water, Negi sputtered and tried to catch his breath._

_"Damn, you are a headache at times!" Kotaro yelled as he dragged both Negi and the boy towards firm ground._

_End flashback:_

Negi then felt how a strange sensation spread through his body. His body! He was corporeal! He felt with his thumb along the fingertips. When he opened his eyes he could make out the faint outline of his arms. He dived yet again into his memories.

_Flashback:_

_Negi ran, he ran with everything he had. Chamo was running beside him._

_"They didn't buy it!" The ermine yelled in panic, "They are after us!" Behind him the howls were growing louder. The demons were drawing closer. Negi ran down the hill trying to find somewhere to hide. He then stumbled and landed with his foot stuck in a rabbit's hole. He looked up as he got his foot out of the hole._

_"My wand!" He shouted, "Where is it?!" It was nowhere to be seen._

_"Never mind that big bro just run!"_

_"I have to find it!" Negi said as he searched the high grass. The howls were right behind him. "Here!" Negi found it and turned around only to be greeted with the sight of a demon swooping down at him. He raised his wand and stated to chant._

_"Ras Tel Mascir Magister! Magic archer! Eleven arrows of li, ahg!" The demon had reached him and tackled him. Despite its small bulk it knocked the air out of him and sent him to the ground. Negi tried to get up but the demon held him down and howled in sadistic glee. A swarm of similar demons came out of the sky and surrounded him. Their twisted faces were grinning with blood thirst._

_"Big bro!" Chamo leapt at the demon holding him down and tried to bite him but it grabbed him and threw him into a tree. It drew closer and bared its teeth at him. Negi closed his eyes and whimpered in fear. But then the demon was knocked backwards. Negi opened his eyes and saw a man standing over him._

_"You won't get this boy, demons." The man said with an authoritative voice. "Return to the abyss that spawned you." The fiends backed off but then they howled and launched themselves upon him _en masse._ The man sighed and suddenly the demons were all knocked backwards and vanished in puffs of smoke. Negi stared at the man. Had he even done anything? He had been standing perfectly still and yet the demons were all gone. What kind of magic was that?_

_The man stepped to the side and turned to him. "It's all right boy, they won't… Negi…?" The last word was whispered and upon the man's face shock was etched. Negi recognized the man that had visited him in Wales four years ago. Takahata Takamichi. One of his father's old friends! A roar signaled the arrival of the larger demons. Negi saw how Takamichi became furious. He took his hands out of his pockets and held them out to his sides. They started glowing and when he brought them together a blinding flash erupted from his hands. Takamichi leapt into the air as a giant demon lumbered out into the clearing. This one was suddenly hit by a pillar of light from the sky that rushed past Takamichi's side. It was utterly annihilated in a deafening explosion. Takamichi landed beside him and scooped him up._

_"Let's go Negi!" He said as he dashed off._

_End flashback:_

Negi opened his eyes as he realized that he was lying on solid ground. He stood up slowly as he had to force his body to work. He would get out of this limbo somehow. His memories, his identity, forged this place, the taint tried to extinguish every trace of him and take complete control of him. But as he remembered who he was he regained control. As he started walking another memory came to him.

_Flashback:_

_Negi was filled with exhilaration as he exited the fortress. It had been his home for two years now. Two years that he had devoted to perfecting his combat skills. He looked into the forest in front of him. It had taken three months for him to reach the fortress when he first had come here. With his knowledge of the forest it would not take more than a week to exit it now. He heard a rustling in one of the nearby bushes._

_"Come out!" He shouted, "I hear you!"_

_"Ooohh…" A giant human-like being came out from the trees, "The little boy seems to be confident. I like the taste of brave boys." It held a giant Naginata in its hands and around its neck hung a necklace made out of human skulls._

_"A devourer ogre." Negi said, "A gluttonous creature that lives to devour the flesh of others. It possesses great strength and can be surprisingly cunning. Its main weaknesses are that it's clumsy and arrogant." He repeated what he had read in the scriptures of the Heaven's Wing_

_"Who are you calling clumsy!" The ogre's face twisted in an inhuman grimace of fury as it raised its Naginata and swung it at him. Negi disappeared when the blade was only an inch away from him. It crashed harmlessly into the ground and he reappeared behind the ogre. A swarm of arrows appeared around him as he pulled the arm back and punched the ogre in the gut as hard as he could. The arrows spun around his arm and empowered the punch that already was powerful enough to kill the being. A giant hole erupted in the being's stomach. It staggered backwards and stared at the hole._

_"I…Impossible…" It wheezed. "Y… you are just… a mere…" its gaze went blank and it collapsed on the ground. Negi turned around and exploded into motion as he headed for the other side of the dark forest._

_End Flashback:_

Negi walked slowly across the endless void. He started seeing glimpses of his memories on the horizon. He thanked the Heaven's Wing for teaching him deep meditation; this was practically the same, as he proceeded through the halls of his mind. Another memory came to him.

_Flashback:_

_"Hey Kotaro?" Negi asked. They were lying on top of a hill looking at the clouds._

_"Yeah?" The hanyō said._

_"When were you born?"_

_"What? Seventh December. Why'd you wanna know?"_

_"Nothing special." Negi admitted. "I just remembered that my birthday is next week."_

_"Oh… cool."_

_"I kind of miss that." Negi said. "Nekane would always make a big birthday cake and half the village would be invited."_

_"Huh?" Kotaro turned to him; "You have a party at your birthdays?"_

_"Of course." Negi looked at him. "Everybody does."_

_"Not me." Kotaro said. "Ain't never heard of it before."_

_"You mean that you have never had a birthday party before?" Negi said in disbelief._

_"Hello. Orphan, remember…" Kotaro said. "Who would I party with? "'Hey I'm here t' kick your ass, mind if we celebrate my birthday first?" I ain't celebratin' stuff. I try t' survive it."_

_Four months later._

_"'Ey what are you up to now?" Kotaro asked as they were trudging through the snowy Kyoto streets. "It's cold damn it. Can't we just go back to th' motel?"_

_"No I want to show you something." Negi led his friend into a back alley. "It's in here."_

_"What's in here?"_

_"You'll see." He went up to one of the doors and knocked on it. After a while old man Norihisa opened the door._

_"Oh!" He said with a happy smile. "I started to wonder where you were. Come in, come in." He ushered them inside._

_"This is the surprise?" Kotaro asked. "I'm always cool with gettin' jobs but you didn't need t' be so sneaky."_

_"No, no, Kotaro-kun." The old man smiled. "This has nothing to do with work."_

_"Then what is it?!"_

_"You'll see." Negi and Norihisa said together. Kotaro growled slightly. They walked through the kitchen of the old man's restaurant and into the dining room. It was pitch black there but when the old man turned on the lights Kotaro's jaw dropped to the floor. The room had been heavily decorated and across the middle table hung a large banderole with the words, "Happy birthday Kotaro!" on._

_"Wh-what th'…" was all that the hanyō could say._

_"Seventh December." Negi said. "It's your birthday today!"_

_"Y-you did this just t' celebrate my birthday?"_

_"It's not just." Norihisa exclaimed. "This day is the day that Negi's closest friend was born. It's the birthday of the boy who is more important to him than his own life! That is something that should be celebrated."_

_Kotaro looked at Negi. On his face was a look of pure disbelief._

_"You…" He started to blink. He looked on the verge of tears when he suddenly grabbed Negi and started to knuckle rub his hair. "You're tryin' t' embarrass me aren't you?!" He yelled with a wolfish grin._

_End Flashback:_

The memories were getting more and more clear to him. As he walked through the halls more and more memories came to him. Memories of Kotaro and their travels. Memories of Wales. Memories of Aokigahara. They all flooded him and he dived into them as he reaffirmed himself. Remembered who he was. His determination. His loyalty. His sense of right and wrong. His desire to help. Now he was whole again. Now he had to get out. Closing his eyes he tried to leave his meditative trance when he heard a voice.

_"Negi…"_ It whispered. It was Asuna! _"Negi…"_

_"Asuna-san!"_ He yelled. _"Where are you?!"_ Was she here with him?! How was that possible? His heart then turned to ice as he remembered stories of how some dark mages devoured the souls of their victims and sealed them deep within their minds in order to draw power from them. Had he…?

_"The light… Go towards the light…"_ Negi looked around. Far in the horizon he saw a shimmering light. Hardly more than a star. He started running towards it.

_"Not that… anything but that."_ He begged to whatever god would listen that that wouldn't have been Asuna's fate. He forced himself to remain calm. The star came slowly closer but every step became harder and harder to take. As if he was running in glue. The taint fought his attempts to reach it. He gritted his teeth and continued. The ground seemed to swallow his feet but he continued. When he couldn't run he walked, when he became too tired to walk he crawled. He had to reach her!

Slowly, slowly the star drew closer. It was now like a sun. Its rays tore through the darkness and he felt like it shone straight into his soul. He was now close enough to touch it. His arm reached out and he touched the light. Then suddenly his mind exploded. It felt like his every cell had been set on fire, dipped in acid, thrown into a spike pit and cut with blunt knives. He screamed. He screamed and screamed….

…Until he suddenly sat up with a gasp. He hyperventilated and felt his heart beat rapidly. It was as if he had been running for ten hours straight. His chest felt like it would explode.

"You really are an interesting person bōya." Evangeline's voice said behind him.

* * *

A/N: yet another chapter up. A little short unfortunately but what can you do? There will be a little longer chapters on the future. We are slowly proceeding trough the story and from now on I'll attempt to make one update every week. Sweet Heavens expressed in a review concern over something. He felt that what I had written was rushed and that it felt like I was loosing control over everything. I can immediately tell you all that it isn't so. I've got much left to tell but I can warn you that things will be different from now on. I won't say much more but I have one question for all of you. 

I've been thinking of making a section at the end of the story where I comment on the chapter, explain what I meant by this and that, kind of like a commentary. Would you find that interesting or only irritating? Please give your opinions and we'll see.

And on a last note I want you all to take a look at "The Magi's Cherry blossom." by troublesome01. It's a negi/makie story that I can't believe hasn't gotten more reviews.


	23. Tainted power

**Chapter 22: Tainted power**

* * *

Negi looked backwards and saw Evangeline. She was sitting with her legs crossed on a large stone slab. Her eyes were fixed upon him and she had a strange look on her face. Negi looked around to see where he was. He was lying on a slab like the one Evangeline was sitting on and both slabs were standing in a building reminiscent of the temples Negi had seen in Greece. Outside the temples lay a tropical beach with palm trees and clear blue water. Wherever he was, it wasn't Mahora. Turning back to Evangeline he was about to speak when she held up her hand.

"For your first question, Kagurazaka is all right. For the second, you have only been out for seven hours. For the third, you are in my sanctum." She said calmly.

"Okay…" He still was out of breath, "What happened?"

"I was walking home when I saw that vermin ermine of yours." Evangeline explained, "He was dragging around a package to you and I decided to take a look. I must say the contents really surprised me. But when he explained the entire situation I hurried to the arena and saw you about to rape Kagurazaka. Chachamaru managed to knock you unconscious before you did anything though. After that we brought you here."

"Thank god…" Negi buried his face in his hands. He hadn't done it! "Thank god!"

"Now I must say I never would have pegged you for someone who read that kind of tings." The vampiress said.

"What?" Negi didn't catch on.

"This…" Evangeline held up an old book with a black cover and a blood-red stone in the middle of it, "is hardly something normal wizards read."

Negi stared at the book, "Is that what I think it is?" he asked silently.

"I don't know, what are you thinking?"

"The black tome of Thanata…"

"Bingo." She said dryly. "You see why I'm a little surprised."

"I… no… I didn't…" Negi stared in horror at the book. That was one of the most dreaded books in the world, a grimoire written by an ancient sorceress who had made countless pacts with the dark powers and gained nearly unlimited power. It was a book forbidden to possess on pain of death. Then, in a moment of clarity, Negi realized what Chamo had been thinking.

"I can see why you obtained it though. It's a very useful book when dealing with the taint; I have a copy of it myself." Evangeline continued. "What surprised me was that you had enough guts to acceptthat using those arts is your only way to survive with the taint. Your kind would normally rather die than using them."

"Where is Chamo-kun?" Negi asked. He wasn't surprised that she knew. She must have understood at the bridge.

"Somewhere with my servant Chachazero." Evangeline said, "I sent Chachamaru to get him and Kagurazaka when you were showing signs of awakening."

Negi turned and swung his legs off the side of the slab. "They are here too?"

"Of course, I had to forcibly remove Kagurazaka from you when we got here. She and the ermine have been fretting over you so much it was comical." She smirked, "And you'd better not move too much. The seals you needed are pretty draining."

Negi looked down and saw that he was shirt-less and that intricate patterns had been tattooed across his body with red color. "Blood-seals," was all he said.

"I put them on you. That's how you could regain consciousness so quickly. There was nothing the taint could do to stop you other than the final stages. They should have fully sunk into you in about half an hour. "

"Thank you Evangeline-san." Negi said. "I owe you one for this, big time."

"Bah!" The vampire jumped down from the slab. "If you die I'll be without a way out of here. That's all there is to it."

Further discussion was interrupted when Asuna and Chamo came inside. The ermine leapt up on his shoulder and Asuna stopped beside him.

"Are you okay Negi?" Asuna asked, when she noticed the markings she continued. "What is this? Did you make me leave just so that you could make a doodle on him?"

"If you want to know the truth you'll have to ask bōya" Evangeline said evenly. "I won't waste time trying to explain it to you; my time would be better spent teaching rocks to speak." With that she left. Asuna looked after the vampiress with a furious gaze.

"Negi," she said after a while, "What is going on? And this time, tell me everything." She sat down beside him.

"I can't tell you Asuna-san. You mustn't get involved in this" Negi gritted his teeth. He just couldn't do it.

"What the…!" Asuna looked like she was ready to attack him. "I'm already involved you twerp! You nearly raped me! I want a goddamn explanation!"

"The only thing I'd accomplish by that is placing you in even greater peril."

"Tell her big bro." Chamo said, "She needs to know."

Negi sighed. "Fine… Do you remember what I told you about dark mages?" he said.

"You mean those guys who give away their humanity for power?"

"Yes them…" Negi fell silent for a few seconds before continuing. "These people sell their humanity and in its place they gain pure evil, a taint, a cancer that attacks not the body, but the soul. This darkness eventually makes them completely evil and they live only to cause misery and bloodshed."

"What does this have to do with you?"

"I have been infected by that very darkness." Negi said solemnly, "I never gave away my soul though; the taint was put inside me by a powerful demon that I defeated a long time ago. It put it in me as revenge for thwarting its plans. That kind of things is almost unheard of and the supernatural governments don't make any distinction between those who willingly embraced it and those who were forced to bear it. If anyone finds out I'll be summarily executed."

"So if big bro wants to remain being big bro he'll have to use the kinds of magic that are seen as evil and are forbidden. Blood magic, necromancy, dark seals etc." Chamo continued

Negi looked at Asuna; it was obvious that she was surprised.

"I didn't want you to know about this," he continued, "If my world finds out about this you'll be considered a criminal as well for not revealing that I possessed the taint. You'll be severely punished."

"That's insane!" the redhead finally burst out. "You couldn't help it! Why should they execute you for that?"

"Because the taint makes even the most virtuous man an unrepentant murderer." The ermine said, "It's an unstoppable plague. No one can escape it. When it has infected you it's only a question of when you become an evil madman, not if."

"So you'll…" Asuna was unable to finish the sentence.

"…Become a monster?" Negi finished, "Not if I can wrest control over it. Then I'll still be me as far as I know. As it is now I have three options. The first is to reveal my taint and be executed, the second is to allow it to consume me and make me a monster, and the third is to try to find a way to control it. But the only wizards who experiment with controlling taint are the most evil of the dark wizards."

"This book," he held it up for Asuna to see "is written by the woman who caused the destruction of Atlantis. The only name we know her by today is Thanata, the queen of darkness. She was an already powerful sorceress who sold her soul to dark powers in hope that she could save her partner who had been severely wounded in a war against Atlantis. But when she gained those powers it was already too late, her partner was already dead. She then delved deeper and deeper into the forbidden arts and somehow managed to gain control over the taint that had infected her. With the powers she had gained she wiped Atlantis off the planet. A feat not even my father would be able to accomplish I might add. Her research is apparently the only thing that can help me… That's my story, do you understand why I didn't want you to be involved. As it is now I'm a first-rate criminal."

Asuna sat down silently and looked out across the sea. Finally she turned to him.

"I did say I was going to help you didn't I?" She said seriously. "That stands you know, I won't run off when you really need all the help you can get."´

"Even if you know that you'll be thrown into prison, perhaps executed, if anyone else finds out?"

"Yeah." Asuna said simply.

"Cute," Evangeline's voice came from behind, Asuna spun around upon hearing her voice, Negi merely looked backwards. The blonde vampiress was standing against one of the pillars with her arms crossed. "Now if you are done cuddling we need to complete the next stage of the seals. We aren't even close to completing them."

"What's the next step?" Negi asked as he slowly stood up. He really felt weak now.

"The bone seals."

"Ouch…" Negi shivered. Asuna came up by his side and helped him to walk. "That won't be nice."

"Quit whining, the soul seals will be ten times worse." Negi grimaced at the thought.

"What are you talking about?" Asuna asked.

"To get control of the taint they need to burn a series of dark seals into him." Chamo elaborated as they walked up the stairs to the place where the seals would be created. "The first seals were blood-seals; seals on your blood system. They have given him control of his blood and ability to change his metabolism to not fight the taint. Next are the bone-seals that are carved inside his body. They change his entire body and make it able to safely contain the taint. The last seals are the soul-seals that are branded on his very soul, they will make his entire being something that accepts and can use the taint."

"And that's only the first part," Evangeline said. "Afterwards he needs to learn to control the taint and that will take a lot more than just seals."

Asuna didn't ask anymore, what she had learned thus far unsettled her enough. When they reached the top of the plateau Negi saw the giant twelve-edged star in the middle of it. It was surrounded by what appeared to be giant skeletal fingers that reached out of the ground seemingly wanting to grab whomever that stood inside the star. Evangeline went up to a dais in front of the star and placed the book on it.

"Get inside the star bōya." She said.

"I'd advise you not to look Asuna-san." Negi said, "This won't be nice if it is what I think it is." He walked to the middle of the star and kneeled in the center as Evangeline opened the tome and started to read.

"Lic lac la lac Lilac," Evangeline begun to chant. "Bones of the dead, bones of the fallen. Wind of pestilence, wind of suffering. Whispers of the grave, whispers of the deep. Darkness of the crypt, darkness of the night. Hear my commands, do my bidding, open the gates of death and decay." The ground began to shake as the vampiress chanted the incantation.

"Let bones rattle, let wraiths howl, let the dead rise. By ravens blood and wolfs fang, by the wind from the gallows. By the ghouls howl, by the anguish of the buried, by the eternal silence. Hear my commands and serve me, rise from the depths and devour." The giant fingers were slowly clenching around Negi.

"By the mark of the damned, by the mark of the lost. By the mark of the ruinous powers of death. Shatter the pure; break the innocent, place upon the suffering the mark of eternal darkness. By the pale hand of the grim reaper I command you! Ten thousand tormenting seals of death!" The fingers snapped out again and hundreds of small, long needles of bones shot out from them and buried themselves in his skin. Negi screamed as the needles lifted him off the ground and pierced through his entire body. His eyes were wide open as he tried to scream but had no air left.

"What are you doing?!" Asuna became hysteric. "You are killing him!"

"Silence Kagurazaka!" Evangeline roared, "This must be done! The blood seals will keep him alive!"

"But…" She stared at her teacher with horror evident in her eyes.

"We need to change him on a fundamental level!" The vampiress said. "We have to mark his every bone, organ, nerve thread, every single part of him with these seals! That's the only way for him to survive!"

Asuna stood still and looked at Negi; it was like scene out of a nightmare! His body was transfixed with the arms straight out to the sides, his legs hung limply below him, and through every part of his body ran the bone needles. His blood was running slowly from the wounds and his face was fixed in a look of horror.

It was a sight that would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Suddenly the needles were all pulled out of Negi and he fell limply to the ground. Chachamaru caught him mid-air and she wrapped a blanket around him when they had landed. Asuna ran to his side and heard him groan.

"That… was… not… fun…" He gasped as his entire body shook. "And you… say… the soul… seals are… even… worse?"

"Basically yes, I'm not going to be gentle with you." Evangeline said. "It would take days to seal your soul if I tried to avoid causing pain."

"Yeah I know…" Negi admitted, "I already tried to… seal it with the God's cry's aid… it took hours… and hurt like hell. But it still managed to… trick me into opening the seal."

"That doesn't surprise me the least. The only way for those ridiculous seals to be effective against taint is for the recipient to join a monastery where you'll never have to experience any temptations. Those sword-waving glorified mercenaries have never considered the human aspect of things at all. To them humans are supposed to be machines." Evangeline said smirking, "Now rest up; we'll created the last seals tonight."

"Isn't it night now?" Negi asked as Asuna was helping him get to his feet, "If we entered seven hours ago is should be dark now."

"Ever heard of the Urashima Tarō fairytale?" the vampiress asked, "This place is the reverse of that. One day here is the same as one hour in the real world. Chachamaru," She turned around, "make dinner."

The robot complied and soon a large dinner was prepared. They sat down by the table and ate in silence; Evangeline wasn't interested in conversation, Asuna was still shocked by the sealing and didn't have anything to say and Negi was still subdued by the experience of having been pierced by thousands of needles. When they were finished Evangeline left them after telling them that she would return when it was time. This left Negi and Asuna alone since Chamo had left too claiming to be late for an appointment.

Negi sat and looked out across the sea. Asuna had helped him to get to the bench he was currently sitting on. Eventually Negi decided to speak up.

"It's amazing isn't it?" He said, "In the outside world only about twenty minutes has passed. But we have been here for eight hours already."

"You're right… it's pretty cool." Asuna said.

"Such is the power of magic…" Negi mused.

"What?" Asuna asked.

"It's a quote, it's a part of the speech said to have been given by Teresias the seer. He lived in ancient Greece and was the greatest oracle that ever existed. He saw the future, past and present all at once. That quote is from a speech he is said to have given in front of the magic council of Greece after the battle of Troy. The alleged wooden horse was in fact a summoned demon that tore down the gates of Troy and rampaged through the city. The quote is about how one must never forget what magic can do."

"I understand what he meant…" Asuna said as she suddenly felt small and insignificant. She didn't feel like she belonged here. What could she do here?

"You didn't like the sight of me being skewered? Think of me, I was subjected to it." Negi smiled bleakly.

"Sorry…" Asuna said, "I didn't…"

"Hey, hey!" Negi stopped her, "I was joking, and you have every right to be freaked out by that. But you can look at it this way; if things go well I won't have to do that again. The soul seals aren't nearly as gruesome."

"How do you know that?" She asked him, "Didn't you say that this stuff was forbidden?"

"Not the seals themselves, just the ways that they are used and structured."

"Hey, Negi." Asuna suddenly said trying to change the subject, "didn't you say something once about Konoka reading the future? You know that time you came home with her unconscious. Was that only because you gave her aid?"

"No," he answered truthfully, "Konoka has an immense potential for magic. Her grandfather and father are both powerful mages. She might very well have more raw power than even my father and much more than me. That's why she became unconscious, she can't use her magic yet but it still leaked over a little when she tried to read me. When I gave her aid I accidentally opened the dam gates in her so to speak and a veritable flood of magic came. She was overwhelmed by the sight."

"Really? Does she know? That you are a mage I mean?"

"No, apparently her father wants her to live as a normal girl. It appears that he believes that it is for the best that she gets a chance to be a normal girl."

"You don't agree?" Asuna observed.

"Both yes and no…" Negi pondered on how he should put it. "Her powers will one day manifest themselves, it's inescapable and she is like a volcano waiting to erupt. Waiting with teaching her until the last moment will stymie her growth as a wizard immensely; something many will suffer for. But I still can't deny that he has a point," He looked down at one of his scarred arms, "It would have been nice to live a normal life. But perhaps those with true potential aren't meant to live normal lives… Perhaps potential is a chain as much as a blessing, something that defines your fate. It might be your fate. To perfect your potential and use it. That sure has been my fate…" He looked off into the distance.

"Negi…" Asuna said slowly.

"Bah, don't listen to me!" He suddenly said, "I'm rambling again. Perhaps we should get something more constructive done. Would you like to try out that artifact of yours again?"

"Eh… no thanks," Asuna said, "I think I'll wait a few days before fighting demons again."

"Okay. Would you like me to show you some moves? I've had some kenjutsu-training?"

"Are you serious? You are in no condition to fight!"

"No not me but a simulacrum would be."

"Simu-what?"

"An advanced type of magic clone." Negi explained.

Asuna eventually agreed, if nothing else than to get her mind off the image of Negi skewered on thousands of needles, and Negi summoned the simulacrum. It was a perfect copy of Negi, only that this one was wearing a samurai outfit and a wooden sword. It lifted the sword and went into a combat stance.

"Adeat!" Asuna summoned the harisen and went into her own stance.

"Your stance is no good." Negi began, "you expose too much of yourself. Bend the knees slightly, hold the sword in front of you and make sure you have good balance," he instructed her. Asuna did so and during the next hours Negi drilled Asuna in what he knew of swordsmanship, he had during his training focused on unarmed combat and Bojutsu, the use of a combat staff, but Katsu had insisted that he should be able to wield all kinds of weapons with some skill. Asuna learned quickly and when Chachamaru came to tell them that Evangeline was ready to do the soul-seals she had made significant progress.

They headed to the middle of the platform again where the vampiress was waiting.

"Ready bōya?" she asked.

"No but let's do this anyway." He walked out to the stone slab Evangeline was standing by. As he lay down on it she looked at him.

"Not scared at all?" She asked quirking an eyebrow.

"What option do I have?" He countered, "None, I can only go forward as it is. To hesitate only worsens the situation." Evangeline suddenly had a look of grudging respect on her face. She started chanting as he had lain down.

The chanting continued for a long time and when it stopped Negi was engulfed in a bone white light. It lifted him off the ground as crimson red lightning arcs began to jump across his body. Around him small specks of magic energy appeared and started to spin around him. They became more and more numerous and spun faster and faster. Suddenly they all dove into him as one. Negi's body started to spasm and with a blinding flash the light vanished. When the others could see again he was lying on the slab again. He blinked slowly as he sat up. Sitting with his feet off the slab he raised one hand and suddenly punched it. The slab exploded when his fist hit it and the fragments flew across the platform as he got off the remains. All the time his face was completely impassive.

"…Negi" Asuna whispered, for some reason the man in front of her terrified her. Suddenly Negi's eyes flew wide open and he started to roar with an inhuman voice. Evangeline's eyes flew open and she yelled.

"Run! He's on an overdrive!" The ground started to crack under Negi's feet and the cracks spread across the trembling platform. Evangeline lifted off the ground and Chachamaru, who took flight as well, grabbed Asuna. They dashed into the sky and looked down on the platform that was falling apart.

"What's going on?" Asuna yelled.

"He's gotten too powerful!" Evangeline answered, "The taint powered him up to the level where his mind couldn't handle it! Get to the beach! I'll have to exhaust him!"

"Yes master." Chachamaru dived towards the beach and put Asuna down. The redhead looked back and felt her heart freeze at the sight. The remains of the platform were held afloat in the air as purple lightning crackled between the fragments and from the sky above a giant orb of ice was descending rapidly towards the remains. Suddenly a blinding ray of red light shot out from one of the fragments and obliterated the orb with a deafening explosion. More rays and explosions of magic came from Evangeline's position but gigantic bolts of purple lightning and red light stopped them all. Asuna didn't know much of magic fighting but it was obvious that Evangeline was in trouble. Suddenly the explosions stopped and a projectile crashed into the beach a few meters away. The projectile turned out to be Negi and Evangeline. The former was holding the latter in the air by the throat and was squeezing it, a manic look in his eyes.

Asuna could hear a cracking noise from Evangeline's throat. She summoned her artifact and charged. Negi turned to her, lifted one hand and fired a gigantic swarm of red missiles towards her. Asuna closed her eyes and leapt straight towards them hoping that her resistance would work. The missiles collided with an invisible barrier only a few inches from her and exploded. Asuna raised her harisen and when she exited the cloud of dust that had been kicked up she was right upon him. She hit him with everything she got and he flew away. Evangeline fell to the ground wheezing.

"Damn he's powerful!" The vampiress croaked before looking at Asuna. "How did you even survive that?" She asked her.

"I'm immune to that stuff!" Asuna yelled as she looked in Negi's direction.

"Then what are you waiting for? Beat him unconscious! He is going berserk!"

B-but…" Asuna hesitated.

"The magic has overloaded his mind! We have to make him waste it or he'll destroy himself!"

"O-okay!" Asuna charged towards Negi who had appeared out of the clouds. Evangeline was chanting again and unleashed a swarm of ice missiles towards him. Negi's barrier stopped them all but allowed Asuna to get close enough to strike at him. But this time Negi leapt out of the way and spun around sending a hand chop towards Asuna's neck. Chachamaru then came out of the clouds too and dragged her out of the way. Evangeline's voice suddenly appeared in Asuna's head.

_"Distract him! I'll need time for a real spell! Chachamaru will get you out of the way when it's time!_" Asuna looked as Chachamaru who nodded.

"Right…" She said, "Let's go!" The two girls charged Negi and begun to attack him with all they had. But he dodged every attack and countered them easily. As Negi struck Asuna with a haymaker that sent her flying she realized how skilled Negi actually was when he went all out. Up until how he had been forced to hold back because of the taint but now he was going all out and he was on a completely different level. In only a few seconds they were defeated. Then Chachamaru grabbed Asuna and shot into the air. The entire area under them was covered in ice. They reached Evangeline's position where the mage was chanting in ancient Greek.

"…Kozmike Katazrofe!" she finished the chanting and the entire field shattered into thousand small shards. They held their positions in the air and looked down at the field.

"What was that?" Asuna asked.

"The mistress just used her most powerful spell, "The end of the world," or in ancient Greek, "Kozmike Katazrofe", it covers the targeted area in ice with a temperature of nearly absolute zero and shatters it when she speaks the name of the spell." Chachamaru said. "It's a spell that even an average dragon only have a 5.16 chance to survive."

"But bōya is currently more powerful than any dragon. He was even more powerful than his father just now," the vampire said. "If that didn't work we're done for." The last remains of the ice disappeared and revealed Negi standing surrounded in a blood red nimbus of magic. But as they were watching the light changed color and became its usual yellow color. Negi stumbled and fell to the ground as they descended slowly. When they landed Asuna ran up to Negi who looked up at her with a dazed expression as she reached him.

"W-what happened?" He asked dazedly.

"You went berserk, that's what happened." Asuna said.

"Oh," Negi looked around. "L-let's hope this was a one time incident. S-sorry about your sanctum Evangeline-san." He said to the vampiress as he got to his feet with Asuna's help.

"Don't worry, it repairs itself." Evangeline said, "At least the library is intact."

"Good," He looked down at his pants, "Eh… You wouldn't happen to have a spare pair of pants?" He asked.

"I don't think so, why?"

"Eh…" Negi looked embarrassed, "well… it seems like a large enough rush of magic feels good enough that… well…" He fell silent as the vampiress began to laugh.

"First time bōya?" She teased him as Negi became even redder.

* * *

A/N: The seals are in place, the taint leashed, but can Negi truly control the power of the malicious emptiness? Can this young man wrest control over pure darkness?

The events in this chapter might come as a surprise for many seeing as how the taint now won't drive him to becoming a rabid beast anymore. However I can guarantee you that the taint is not a finished chapter. This is only the end of the beginning. Perhaps you feel that giving Negi a power-up when he's already a one-man army is redundant but the focus in my story is on the internal struggle. Leashing the taint is only the first step and it will have deep consequences. One does not try to control pure evil without side-effects.


	24. Normal life is a blessing

**Chapter 23: Normal life is a blessing**

* * *

When they left the sanctum Negi went home immediately and changed clothes. He had previous experience with sanctums and was used to it but Asuna was quite disoriented. The last twenty-four hours had been extremely demanding and now only one hour had passed in the normal world. 

"Such is the power of magic…" She muttered as she was walking home. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Takamichi until she collided with him.

"Oh. Hello Asuna-kun," her ex-sensei said, "What's gotten you so deep in thought?"

"Ah! T-Takahata-sensei, she stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you!"

"It's all right Asuna-kun." The man said, "How has life been with you the latest weeks?"

"Oh, it's going great!" She said nervously. Her heart was beating rapidly. She realized that she must look like a bum; the battle at the sanctum had covered her clothes and face in dust. What was Takahata-sensei going to think?

"That's good to hear." Takamichi said, "Is it working out with having Negi staying with you? You weren't too fond of him in the beginning."

"Yes it's going great!" She said. "I really like that guy."

"That's nice." He smiled, "Well I got to go now." Takamichi said, "I have a meeting within five minutes. It was nice seeing you Asuna-kun," he said as he left. Asuna looked after the man feeling her heart slow down. His mere presence was enough to make her nervous. Why couldn't she just tell him how she felt? She felt pathetic at the realization that she could fight Negi when he was high on magic without too much hesitation but telling Takahata-sensei how she felt was too much for her.

She went home wallowing in her misery. Upon entering the apartment she went to bed immediately. Best to sleep and forget.

* * *

Negi hadn't liked the look that was on Asuna's face when she entered but he had decided to let it be. It was a large chance that he was the one responsible for it and decided to let her solve it herself. He was sitting by the table reading the tome Chamo had gotten from god-knew-where. Said ermine was sitting on his shoulder reading the book too. 

Negi was both appalled and fascinated by the book. It described every kind of twisted magic he had ever heard of. Fleshcrafting, blood-magic, slave-seals, abyssal necromancy and much more, it was all described in detail in the book. But it also told him much about the taint itself.

The current chapter was about the basic nature of the taint. According to Thanata the taint was a form of supernatural energy just like magic, and ki, Negi guessed. But the taint fed, and fed upon, everything evil and twisted in you and aggravated even the smallest vices. The trick when attempting to control it was to keep it contained, much like you did when suppressing your magic, to hold it in a "pool" within your soul and only release it when you needed to. Negi sighed at the realization. It had taken him years to be able to use magic and the ki had taken months. As it were now he had to learn how to focus the taint within weeks, perhaps days. The seals had only been the first stage. Now he had to learn to control it. Then came the part where you mixed it with magic, then you learned how to use it on its own. The thought of magic made out of pure taint made Negi shudder.

"As soon as I'm done with this I'll burn this disgusting book." Negi muttered when it described how to flay people with a single word of power.

"Don't blame you at all big bro." Chamo said. "This is magic no one should have to deal with."

"And yet it was you who got it for me." Negi pointed out, "Dare I ask where you got this?"

"Let's just say I had to sacrifice half of my collected favors to get it."

"I see."

"I'm home!" Konoka's voice came from behind as the door opened. Negi quickly shut the book and hid it with magic.

"Good evening Konoka-san," He said as he placed the book under the table and took up a bunch of tests that he had been correcting.

"Hey Negi-kun," Konoka smiled, she was wearing one of her beautiful kimonos.

"Still doing that o-miai stuff?" He asked.

"Yeah…" She said as she took out her hairpins. "Could you help me with something Negi-kun?"

"What?"

"This sash," Konoka said, "It's too tight, could you help me get it off?"

Negi hesitated, that would be like an open invitation for the taint. Would the seals work? He took a deep breath and focused. Envisioning the taint like a black oily cloud within him he focused on it and willed it to retreat into his stomach. When he had collected it he envisioned steel bars binding it. He used the same method that he had used to mask his ki when hunting Evangeline.

"Hey Negi-kun?" Konoka asked, "Are you there? Pretty please can you help me?"

"Sure Konoka-san," he said.

"Thanks."

He stood on his knees in front of her and held the sash as she spun around unwrapping it. He wondered how long it was when Konoka spoke up.

"By the way, I was talking with some of the girls earlier today," she said, "they were wondering if we are going on any class trips?"

"I haven't actually thought of that," Negi said, perhaps it would be a good idea. "But why not? Did you have anything special in mind?"

"Nah…" She said, "We just wanna go traveling."

"How does Kyoto sound?" He asked innocently.

"Yeah!" Konoka's enthusiasm surprised him. "That's great! Then I can show you my home."

"That's right, you lived originally in Kyoto didn't you?" he feigned ignorance and she nodded, "Then Kyoto it is." Negi said. He planned to have a serious discussion with her father. Was she so seldom allowed to go home that she became so happy at a chance? There was something wrong with the whole thing.

"But if we're going to Kyoto we need to get you some cuter clothes," Konoka said, sounding like she had just discovered a large problem, "have you ever been to Harajuku?"

"No I can't say I have." Negi said, he knew that it was a shopping district but that was it.

"Really?" she sounded astonished, "Wow, you got to go there, it's a really cool place; they got all sorts of cute clothes there."

"Really?" he decided to indulge her; "perhaps I should take a look then."

"Yeah. I'm going there this weekend; you can come with me then." She said; she was still spinning.

"Good idea," Negi said, "I'm not too good when it comes to fashion."

"Okay! I'll show you then," she leaned in, "And its Asuna's birthday soon too, we got to get her something," she whispered. Negi blinked, she was right! One step closer to her sixteenth birthday… He shook his head to get rid of that train of thinking.

"How long is this sash?" He asked when it suddenly came undone. "Oh…"

"Thanks a lot Negi-kun." She smiled at him.

"You're welcome," he said as he got back to the tests. For some reason he felt that the sash was grinning at him.

* * *

The next day Negi told the girls about the planned trip. Even if they normally went to places like Hawaii Negi managed to make the trip sound like the greatest adventure ever. But then Shizuna interrupted the celebration telling Negi that the headmaster wished to see him. For some reason Negi got a bad feeling about the whole thing. 

When he stood in front of the headmaster the old man said.

"I've heard that you are planning a field trip to Kyoto Negi-sensei."

"That's correct Konoe-sama." Negi answered.

"Well, there are some problems with that. Can I perhaps interest you for another destination?"

"What problems are you speaking of?" Negi wasn't going to let it slide that easily.

"To put it bluntly, the relations between us and the Kansai mages have only marginally improved. There is still much resentment between our branches."

"So Eishun-san hasn't managed to fix that in the five years that he has been the director of the Kansai branch." Negi said.

"Unfortunately not. Now, I believe that this inter-association squabbling is a nuisance and I wish to see that it ends. If you are still planning to go to Kyoto I'm dispatching you as an emissary to deliver this letter to my son-in-law. There will be forces intent on keeping the letter from reaching him however. They will cause problems for you, and possibly for non-wizards too. Are you up to the task?"

"I will go to Kyoto Konoe-sama," Negi said firmly, "I have no intention of letting the Kansai extremists stop me. And there is another reason why I'll go. Konoka-san became overjoyed at the prospect of going there. Of going home. I believe Eishun-san has let his daughter down in this matter. He has sent her off to the other side of Japan and not even allowed her to visit her home more than a few times."

"He only acted out of concern for his daughter."

"By banishing her? If he had done his job it wouldn't have been necessary. He has failed in his job of restoring peace in Kansai. That has affected his daughter as well and she is my student."

"Is that your reasons?"

"I have a few more. He has forbidden her talent to be developed. She is a seething volcano Konoe-sama. She will explode sooner or later and with her amount of magic we might very well have a magic storm on our hands. She has more raw power than perhaps even my father. To forbid that talent to be developed is nothing less than a crime. He has acted in a short-sighted and irresponsible manner in this matter."

"Perhaps, I agree with you, it is regrettable that he doesn't want her to develop her powers but we must respect his wishes." The headmaster picked up the letter and handed it to him. "Good luck. Negi-sensei."

"Thank you Konoe-sama." He left the room. The old man sat still and looked after the young boy, a thoughtful look on his face. That was something Nagi never would have said.

"You really have left your father's shadow young boy." He mused.

* * *

As Negi was walking home he pondered over what he just had said. He had spoken from his heart and made claims he never would have made normally. He wondered what had prompted him to say it when Chamo interrupted his thinking. 

"Heads up," he said, "girls at one o' clock." He looked up and saw Konoka and Asuna.

"Hey Negi-kun," Konoka said, "We're heading for the sale, do you want to come?"

"Sure," he said, "I needed to buy a suitcase for the trip anyway."

By some twist of fate Asuna's pactio card fell out of Negi's pocket. Konoka saw it and picked it up before Negi could act.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, "A tarot card with Asuna on, that's so cool!"

Asuna stared at it; Negi looked at her and quickly mouthed, "Play along."

"Did you make this for Asuna? I'm so jealous!" She squealed.

"Whatever!" Asuna said loudly, "Let's go, the shop won't be open forever!"

Konoka agreed and Negi snatched the card back. Konoka, for all the many good sides she had, had the attention span of a goldfish. They headed to the shop. Negi quickly found a good travel case that would suffice for the trip but Konoka insisted on finding cute clothes for him.

"Don't forget your own shopping." Asuna remarked dryly when Konoka came with the third sweater. Negi sweatdropped as he thought of how much it would cost. Konoka eventually pushed him into a booth to try out the clothes. Chamo chose to speak up then.

"Hey big bro." He whispered, "If you want to have a good bargaining chip for Konoka I have an idea."

"What?" Negi realized that the ermine, which loved intrigues, had been thrilled by his speech in the headmaster's office and now Chamo's mind was working overtime to come up with ideas for how to tip the odds in their favor.

"Make a pactio with Konoka." He whispered.

"Are you insane?!" Negi hissed.

"No, listen to me," the ermine explained, "A temporary pactio is one of the most usual things in the world and if you claim that it was an accident he can't do anything. You are the Hand big bro and if you do that…"

"Are you having someone else in there with you Negi-kun?" Konoka asked as she pulled back the covers. She suddenly saw something. "Oh, there's the card, can I see it again?" Negi saw that Chamo had taken the card out of his pocket. _"You sneaky little…"_ She took the card from the ermine and looked on it with an admiring look on her face.

"It's so cool I could die of jealousy! Negi-kun, could you make me one too?"

"Eh…" Negi hesitated.

"You've got open goal big bro!" Chamo whispered, "Shoot!"

"Well the thing is that you have to kiss me if you want a card." Negi blurted out, _"What the hell am I saying!"_ he screamed mentally.

"A… kiss?" Konoka said, "Okay!" She leaned in and tried to kiss him. Negi backed off and his back hit the wall. He was in panic! _"Asuna, somebody, help!"_ He thought as Konoka grabbed his head and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Pactio!" Chamo yelled and the magic light burst forth from the ground as the contract was established. The card appeared and Konoka looked at it with adoring eyes.

"Wow, my very own card!" She took it and held it almost tenderly as she looked at it.

"What the hell are you doing," Asuna's voice came from outside the booth. She had seen the light and drawn her own conclusions. Negi sighed; this wasn't his day.

* * *

The Harajuku district in Tokyo is one of said city's most popular shopping districts. It is famous for its trendy shops where almost every kind of clothes, shoes, accessories and many other things can be found. It is an immensely popular place for young fashion-interested youngsters to shop. 

It was this that had made the three cheerleaders Misa Kakizaki, Sakurako Shiina and Madoka Kugimiya travel all the way there from Mahora. Misa and Sakurako always were very careful about what they wore and would rather die than wearing unfashionable clothes. Madoka was more moderate though and even though she put care into what clothes she bought she wasn't nearly as fanatical as her friends.

"Yahoo! What a nice day!" Sakurako cheered as they walked through the streets.

"It sure is!" Misa agreed.

"Let's go karaoke right now! We'll sing until we're hoarse!" Sakurako continued.

"All right!" Misa was thrilled by the idea.

It was in situations as this that Madoka was a blessing to the group. She was always the calm and logical.

"Hey wait up," she said, "You don't go karaoke on nice days! Besides, hello? We're here to buy clothes for the field trip, remember? For our free activity day, remember? We can't blow our money on the usual goofy stuff, hey, where did you go?" She tried to find her friends who had disappeared; she saw them on front of a crepe stand pondering over which kind they would buy. _"Why won't those idiots ever listen to me?!"_ She thought furiously.

"Oh, screw it! One for me to!" She yelled as she ran over to them. She was the most logical in the group but that only reached so far.

They all got their crepes and continued their shopping round. As they were standing outside a shop that sold hip-hop clothes Misa saw something.

"Hey look," she said pointing at one of the mannequins, "Wouldn't this be awesome on Negi-sensei?"

"Yeah!" Sakurako looked at it, "Why does he have to wear that green suit all the time, he looks like a grasshopper." She said making Madoka chuckle.

"He'd, like, be totally hot in this." Misa said, "Can you imagine?" They all started dreaming. After a while they came back to the real world with small blushes on their faces.

"Wow," Sakurako said.

"Yeah." Madoka said.

"What the…?" Misa finished as she looked out across the crowd. She acted immediately as she pulled her friends into cover. "Look!" She whispered pointing at the street several meters away. The girls saw Negi-sensei walking down the street and beside him was Konoka.

"Hey Negi-kun?" Konoka asked, "What do you think of this?" Konoka asked holding up a t-shirt.

"Really nice Konoka-san." Negi said, he was wearing normal clothes and the girls saw that he wasn't as hot as they had imagined.

He was hotter!

"That kind of clothes really suits you." Negi continued.

"Aww, thank you." Konoka blushed slightly.

The girls' minds were furiously processing the data they just had gotten. They all arrived at the same conclusion at the same time.

_"They are on a date!"_

They looked at each other and furious whispered discussion broke out.

"It's a date! It has to be one!" Misa said.

"B-but Negi-sensei is our teacher! Perhaps they are just shopping like a brother and sister, you know?" Madoka tried to understand the situation.

"Brothers and sisters don't go to Harajuku to shop!" Sakurako shot down her theory. They all froze as they realized the implications. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is bad, very bad!" she continued.

"If people find out that he's fooling around with a student…" Misa began

"…He'll be fired for sure!" Sakurako finished.

"Wait, wait," Madoka said, "Stop jumping to conclusions, maybe it's Konoka who's fooling around with Negi?"

"Well… they do live, like, in the same room." Misa said.

"And Asuna goes to bed early…"Sakurako continued

"And Konoka is good at taking care of people." Madoka said, "Her maternal instincts could become romantic feelings at some point…" They were completely still for a second as their imagination produced several very interesting images. Suddenly Misa threw herself onto the phone.

"We've no choice; we have to blow the whistle!"

"You mean… let the staff office know?" Sakurako gasped

"Idiot!" Madoka yelled, "Both Negi-sensei and Konoka would be thrown out from Mahora if we called them!"

* * *

Over at the dormitories Asuna was using her free day to sleep. She always did that; the feeling of being able to rest completely was a rare and precious thing to her. Therefore she was quite angry when her cell phone began to ring. She answered it with a grumpy voice. 

"Yeah…? Huh? Misa? What's so important that you have to wake me on my day off?"

"This is!" Misa's voice said as Asuna got a picture mail. It was a picture of Negi and Konoka shopping together.

"Be honest: Is this a secret date or what?" Misa yelled.

"Something's up and we thought you should know!" Madoka added.

"She's stealing Negi-kun from you!" Sakurako said.

"Oh, please…" Asuna said, "Have you gotten your heads filled with moss?" She shut the phone and got back to sleep.

The three girls stared at the phone. She didn't believe them! Suddenly Madoka saw that Negi and Konoka were leaving the shop they had been looking in. They decided to follow.

* * *

Negi and Konoka were making their way through the streets of Harajuku enjoying the weather and the shopping. Negi had thought that the last shopping round would have been enough but Konoka had insisted. He had eventually obliged, the Pactio that they had formed three days earlier was a veritable invitation for trouble. Konoka was indeed in possession of a massive amount of magic power, the bond created by the pactio made it obvious. In fact, it was so great, since she hadn't used it even once at the age of fourteen, that she might very well set off a wild magic surge at the slightest attempt to use magic. She simply had too much magic in her and the pactio had only aggravated the risks. 

Normally he wouldn't have hesitated to give her all the advice and training he could have given but the fact that Eishun had forbidden her magic to be developed stopped him. He was a Hand but he wasn't going to go up against one of his father's old friends and the head of the Kansai Magic Association just like that. All he could do was to keep an eye on her and make sure that she was safe. As it were she was beacon for everyone who could sense magic and a prime target for kidnapping.

But Konoka's sunny personality made the job a pleasure. He had a strong suspicion that her magic might have influenced her personality. Considering that her magic seemed to possess a very strong affinity for healing and restoration magic it was very believable. It was amazing how she could make people drop their guards. The way he had blurted out the secret behind creating a pactio yesterday was a good example. He would never have done anything similar anywhere else but around Konoka it was unavoidable. Her innocence and kindness was almost too pure to be natural.

At the moment he had two big concerns though; they were being followed. He had noted two different pursuers. He made sure to appear unaware of them as he glanced in the direction of one of the shadows. He saw three of his students peeking at them around a corner; he recognized them as the cheerleader girls. What were they up to? Probably nothing serious.

Of greater concern was the other shadow. This one stayed hidden. He had only noticed him because of his powerful ki. That one was a cause for genuine concern; if it was a kidnapping attempt he might have a situation on his hands. But Konoka would be safe as long as they stayed in the crowd. Trying to kidnap someone in the middle of this crowd would be suicide. Still; he decided to give the shadow a warning and flared his ki to the level where it was almost visible to the naked eye. For a single second his strength rolled off him in waves and he felt the ki of the other tense. Negi smiled inwardly, now the shadow would probably think twice before trying anything.

"What's the matter Negi-kun?" Konoka asked, "You got awfully quiet."

"Oh, sorry Konoka-san," He apologized, "It's just that this is your free day and you have to drag me around here. You'd probably rather get ready for the field trip." He lied smoothly.

"Nope," She said, "I'm fine. But it's great that you are so concerned about me."

"Hey," Negi smiled at her, "Did you expect me to not care? That isn't going to happen," That part was the truth. He admired Konoka's innocence and kindness. She was an incredible girl. Was it even possible to make her sad? He noticed the cheerleaders tense at his words and then duck into cover. What were they up to? Negi's brow furrowed as he started to think

Perhaps they were… It was pretty plausible… and they were prime examples of the ditzy teenager… they might think that… they probably, no… they definitely thought… that this was a date! He almost burst out laughing at the thought. _"This could be fun," _he thought as he proceeded down the street. One of the traits he had developed during the last years was a slightly sneaky side. Considering that they had been planning to buy a necklace for Asuna he could put a spin on it and make it look like it was for her. He grinned inwardly as Konoka pointed at one of the shops.

"Look, Negi-kun," She said, pointing at a pair of sets of matching clothes, "What do you think of this?"

"Well…" How could he spin this? "I don't know… I think you're too pretty to wear the same clothes as me." He said blinking at her so that she understood that is was a joke but since his head was facing away from the cheerleaders that didn't see his expression they didn't catch on and he could veritably _feel_ the uproar his words caused. Konoka blushed slightly.

"Aw…" She said, "You're so sweet." They proceeded down the street and Negi noticed that the cheerleaders had pulled back slightly. Perhaps they had given up. Oh well… it was fun while it lasted. The other shadow was still following them though. It was on the rooftops now. A good way to escape the crowds; whoever it was he was skilled.

"Oh, Negi-kun, look!" Konoka stood in front of a jewelry store and pointed at a necklace. "Isn't it beautiful?" It was really a pretty necklace. It had a thin chain in silver and a small heart with the kanji for love on it. Negi saw that there were several different variants with different kanji around it.

"Let's go in and take a look." They entered the store and the clerk behind the desk looked at them.

"Good day," he said, he was an old, slightly hunched over man that smiled at them, "Come to buy a necklace for your girlfriend?" He asked with a kind voice.

"Not really," Negi said, "We're here looking for a present for a common friend."

"Do you have any of those cute ones in the window?" Konoka asked.

"Oh, yes," The man shuffled in behind the desk and took up a board with a series of necklaces on; they all had different kanji on them. Negi noticed a heart with the kanji for strength on.

"What do you think of this Konoka-san?" He asked pointing at it. "This one feels like it would suit her."

"That's a great idea Negi-kun!" Konoka exclaimed, "That is so much her! We'll take that one!"

"It will be 5 000 yen please." The clerk said and wrapped up the necklace. Konoka was looking at a set of earrings when Negi leaned over the counter to pay. The old man then put a second jewelry box in his hand. "I'll include this one for free; give it to your girlfriend." The old man said quietly.

"Hey, we're not a couple." Negi whispered.

"But perhaps you can become a couple with this," the old man said, "It's a pity that you have to address her as -san even though she obviously is fond of you. Don't waste your youth young boy." Before Negi could say anything the man had shoved him outside. He stared at the box in his hand.

Now what?

"What's that Negi-kun?" Konoka asked as she saw the package. "Did you buy something more?"

"Eh…" might as well tell the truth, "No, he didn't believe that I was your teacher and insisted on giving me this, said that I should give it to you." He said quietly.

"Oh?" Konoka blushed slightly, "So… what will you do with it?"

"Well… feel like accepting it? Not as a girlfriend gift of course but you could see it as an early birthday present."

"Sure!" Konoka took the box and opened it. Inside was a pair of the earrings she had been looking at. She squealed in delight and gave him a hug. Negi almost blushed.

"Student-teacher relations Konoka-san, student-teacher relations," he said as he untangled himself from her. This might be to take the joking a little far. He should probably tone the whole thing down a little. The cheerleaders might very well have swallowed their tongues by now.

"By the way Negi-kun," Konoka said, "Do you want to find some quiet place to rest?" It was then that everything became very weird. A girl ran into him and was knocked to the ground. Negi apologized quickly and tried to help her get to her feet when a boy pushed him away.

"What are you doing huh?" He asked, seemingly intending to pick a fight. Negi stared at the boy. It wasn't a boy.

"Good afternoon Madoka-san." He said trying to keep his cool, "What's with the boy uniform?"

Madoka stared in horror at him, Negi turned to the girl; it was Sakurako. She had disguised herself with make-up, new clothes and hairstyle and looked completely different from how she used to. An equally scared expression was etched on her face. Suddenly Misa came from behind and collided with him too. He looked at her. She was disguised too.

"Sakurako-san, Misa-san… Exactly what are the three of you up to now?"

"Ehh…" Madoka began.

"Like…." Misa stuttered.

"Run!" Sakurako yelled but Negi grabbed them and held them still.

"Sorry but now you really have to tell me what's going on." He said, _"This will be REALLY fun…"_ He thought. Suddenly he noticed a commotion from behind and Ayaka and Asuna came running through the crowd.

"Good afternoon, Class rep, Asuna-san. Do you have any idea what's going on here?"

"With all... due respect... sensei." Ayaka said, breathing harshly, "Impure… inter-gender associations… between teachers… and students… are forbidden!"

"What?" He feigned a look of complete confusion. "You mean…" He looked at the cheerleaders, "that you thought…" he looked at Ayaka and Asuna, "that… Konoka-san…" He turned to Konoka, "and I…" He looked at the cheerleaders again "was on a…" He returned to look at the class-rep "…date?"

"Weren't you?" Ayaka seemed confused.

"Ehh… no?" Negi said having to fight back the laughter that was bubbling up inside him. "Student-teacher relations anyone?"

"I guess the cat is out of the bag Negi-kun," Konoka said, "Might as well take it now."

"You're right…" Negi took out Asuna's present and held it out to her. "Happy birthday Asuna-san, April 21. It is one day early but I hope you don't mind. We traveled here to buy it."

Asuna blinked, she hesitated before accepting the present. "Wow… I-I don't know what to say… I… Thank you." She was overwhelmed.

"But they said…" Ayaka looked at the cheerleaders who were sneaking away. "Hold it you three!" She snapped. They froze.

"I don't believe it!" Ayaka roared at the three girls, "You three are always causing trouble!" Now Negi had to bite his tongue to not burst out laughing.

"Sorry Class rep," Misa grinned embarrassedly, "Look like it was a misunderstanding."

"Sorry doesn't cover it! Do you realize how much trouble you could have put Negi-sensei in?! He could have been fired because of you!" Ayaka continued to chew the girls out until Negi laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy Ayaka-san," he said, "I think that they understand now."

It was then that Sakurako suggested that they went to karaoke to celebrate Asuna. The girls were thrilled at the idea except for Ayaka who still was furious at the cheerleaders. Negi calmed her down however and they went to the cheerleaders' favorite karaoke place. Negi tagged along not because he wanted to disgrace himself with trying to sing but because the second shadow was still after them.

The Karaoke place was a large club called "Otogakure no Sato" Negi grimaced at the bad joke as they entered and sat down at one of the tables. Madoka and Sakurako started off with a duet, the fact that the original song was sung by a lone man made the experience interesting to say the least. It wasn't that they were bad, on the contrary, but Sakurako sung in the classic Japanese way, "shit-high C" as Kotaro once had put it, while Madoka's husky voice sung several octaves below Sakurako's. The result was interesting to say the least. The microphone was passed around the table and eventually Negi was forced to get up and sing. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to be soundly humiliated.

_"Might as well go out with a bang,"_ he thought as he selected a sappy pop song. When the song started he leaped up on the stage and started to dance. He had seen enough music videos to dance convincingly "pop-ish" and took great care to act just as stupidly as the singers used to. When the song was over he sighed inwardly at the realization that the girls had liked it. Their cheeks were blazing red. Even Ayaka, whom he had considered a logical person, was desperately trying to hide her red cheeks. The cheerleaders even had gotten something hungry in their gazes. Negi excused himself and hurried to the bathroom; apparently the whole thing went a little too good. Time to retreat.

When he had gotten into the bathroom he looked himself in the mirror. For some reason his reflection seemed… off. He cast a spell on his eyes to enhance his eyes. When his sight sharpened to surpass even that of an eagle he saw where the problem lay.

His skin was too smooth. To unmarred. The hardships he had endured during his travels had marked him. When he looked in the mirror he was used to see the face of a tired man. Now he saw the face of a healthy teenager. It was as if his features had been restored to how they should have been. No, more than that. It was like he had gone through cosmetic surgery, only that this was flawless. He removed the spell and stared at himself. Without the magic it was much more subtle but still there when he knew what to look for.

What was going on?

He suddenly remembered a passage from the tome of Thanata.

_The emptiness is perfect. It has no flaws, no blemishes or imperfections. It is nothingness and therefore cannot be lacking, lacking is something only for that which exist. And as the being of darkness and void I have become I will be so too. Let men fall on their knees at the sight of me. Let kings tremble at my presence. Let every woman in the world be jealous of my beauty._

Negi had believed that she had used magic on herself in order to become beautiful. But she hadn't… It was the taint itself. It was remaking him into an ideal version of himself. It remade his pattern, created a new one. He swallowed the lump in his throat, turned on the water and stuffed the hand basin with paper so that the water would remain in it. He had a horrid suspicion. When it was filled he muttered a divination spell over the water. He took out a small bottle as he chanted and poured the contents in the water. The surface shifted and saw an image of himself looking into the sink. The image was red-colored and murky. He sunk down on the toilet seat when seeing it. That meant that the taint was now ingrained in him on a cellular level. Anyone who knew what to look after would immediately detect it.

Negi gritted his teeth and returned too look down into the basin. Focusing he tried to suppress the taint. It worked and he felt how it retreated into the dark recesses of his soul but the image didn't shift at all. He understood how deep the seals had affected him. The taint was now something natural to him. It was a part of him just like his magic.

The realization didn't comfort him.

He wasn't human anymore.

Eventually he stood up and with magic he drew a series of glowing letters in the air. He looked at them for a few seconds before he turned and walked out again. The letters remained for a few seconds before they faded away.

_It's too late to turn back, go forward or fail. _They read.

When Negi came out he suddenly picked up the other shadow, it was waiting outside the club doors. He wasn't in a good mood and decided to confront whoever had followed them. Suppressing his ki he walked outside and looked in the direction he felt the ki from. He was surprised when he saw the pursuer. It was a girl, she was standing with her back against him but he recognized her immediately. She carried a sword-case on the back and had a hairstyle he would recognize anywhere.

"Good afternoon Setsuna-san." He said politely. Said girl spun around upon hearing his voice.

"Oh, Negi-sensei!" She said tensely and bowed.

"I didn't expect to see you here." He said, _"Why are you following us?"_ He thought. "Perhaps you'd like to come in? We're having a Karaoke party to celebrate Asuna-san's birthday."

"No thank you," She said, "I have somewhere to be. See you tomorrow." She said briskly before bowing and turning around to leave.

"It sure will be fun to see Kyoto," He said before letting his voice turn to steel, "Let's just hope there won't be any accidents, I wouldn't like that at all." Setsuna froze at his words before turning to look at him.

"Best to be vigilant then sensei." She said before walking away.

_"What is her agenda? Another uncertain factor." _Negi thought as he saw her leave. Seruhiko had said something about Setsuna being a student of Tokou in the ways of Shinmei-ryu. But since Tokou was an outcast and a mercenary Setsuna might very well be anything. A vampire, a robot, a mage, a kempo master and a ninja had thought him that the girls of 3-A could be anything. But was she hired to kidnap Konoka? He didn't know. He decided to keep an eye on her just in case.

_"It sure will be an interesting trip."_ He thought before heading inside again.

* * *

A/N:Perhaps some of you are thinking **omgwtflolbbq!!!!!!11** and think that I'm trying to make Negi into a "Gary Stu" but there is a good reason for it.

What Negi has done to himself has, as previously stated, made him lose his humanity. He is now something other than human. A being that imitates a human.

Now, this next part will be a little tricky. According to the Greek philosopher Plato the world we see around us is nothing but shadows. According to him there is a "real" world where the "true" beings exist and these are that which makes the shadows we see. For example: the horses we see around us is only the shadows of the "real" horse that exist in this world. These "real" beings he referred to as Imago. So the "real" horse would be the "Imago" of horses.

Now the thing is that Negi is something totally new, a being the universe cannot comprehend since the taint, which is unnatural to start with, is natural to him. There is no Imago for him; there cannot be an Imago since he is now a being that isn't meant to be, that should not exist. He has BECOME an Imago. And it lies in the nature of Imago to be flawless. This isn't the scary part however. The true horror of this is yet to be revealed.

On another note: if anyone didn't get the "Otogakure no Sato" joke that phrase meant "Village Hidden in Sound". It comes from Naruto originally and is one of the ninja villages. I just felt it would be a good name for a Karaoke-club.

And then a message to all my reviewers. I know that the chapters are kinda short but believe me. I'm doing my best here.

And finally, as for Negi's singing: I was watching this while I wrote it and perhaps it can give a clue as to how I imagined that he acted.

w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v F n G 6 F 3 K S P y s 


	25. Kyoto Chaos

Chapter 24: Kyoto Chaos.

* * *

The day had come for the trip to Kyoto to begin. Negi had gotten up early to meet with the other teachers and now he stood on the train-station trying to get his students into some resemblance of order. They had been assigned to different groups and Negi knew that forcing them to behave orderly was an open invitation for disaster. The whole experience felt to him like herding cats but he eventually got the girls to board the train in their groups. 

First group: Miza Kakizaki: the only girl in his class with a boyfriend as far as he knew. She was a happy girl with a whole lot of mischief in her and had been the one who had been staring at him in the most overtly hungry way yesterday. Negi felt sorry for her boyfriend.

Sakurako Shiina: even ditzier than Misa and a cat-lover of the highest degree. A girl with a tendency to talk so fast that she invented new words; she was in many ways a poster child for the class. Carefree, happy and not too sharp.

Madoka Kugimiya: the most logical of the cheerleaders, a reliable girl with a complex about her husky voice; she was also one of the first who would help a classmate if they were in any trouble.

Fuuka Narutaki: the worst prankster in the class and a great rumormonger, she seemed more at home in elementary school due to her underdeveloped body and childish attitude. But below the surface was a surprisingly sharp mind.

Fumika Narutaki: Fuuka's twin but completely different from her mischievous sister. She was a kind, caring girl who all too often was pulled into Fuuka's pranks. He rued the day the twins blossomed, the boys around them wouldn't stand a chance.

Second group: Ku Fei: the Chinese exchange student and the class' resident martial artist. Also an inheritor of the true Shaolin arts as evident in her masterful martial arts.

Satomi Hakase: a science genius who spent just as much time with the mahora university professors as with her classmates. She was a perfect example of the "absentminded professor" stereotype. Her nickname Hakase even meant professor.

Chao Lingshen: another Chinese girl who was just as brilliant as Satomi but not nearly as absentminded. Negi didn't like her, there was something about her. He didn't know what it was but his instincts told him that she was more than she let on.

Misora Kasuga: the devout catholic and magic student. Negi had held true to his word and helped train the girls. They had improved dramatically and even Takane had swallowed her pride and asked him for tips on a couple of occasions.

Satsuki Yotsuba: a plump girl with a heart of gold who was devoted to the art of cooking. Negi held an almost instinctive respect for her, as she was the kind of person you can't describe in any other way than "a great woman".

Kaede Nagase: the ninja. She noticed his analyzing gaze and blinked at him as if she wanted to tell him that she had her corner covered. Knowing her she probably did. She definitely knew more than she let on.

Third group: Ayaka Yukihiro: the second daughter of the Yukihiro Zaibatsu CEO. Negi had learned that her bossy façade hid a lonely girl who still mourned her stillborn baby-brother. Strangely enough her closest friend would be Asuna seeing how they always bickered.

Chisame Hasegawa: the grumpy girl with the Internet alter ego. She was a girl who considered the entire rest of the class nutcases. Negi had with limited success tried to make her bond with the rest of the class.

Chizuru Naba: a girl with immense maternal instincts and well-developed figure. She was also surprisingly assertive and Negi had once seen her subdue a group of elementary school boys, who had been harassing a small girl, with a single glare. Even he got unnerved when she was like that.

Natsumi Murakami, a timid girl who stayed close to Chizuru at all times. She had very bad self-confidence and was usually pretty subdued. But she was a passionate actor and Negi had seen her on the set where she became totally different person.

Kasumi Asakura: the "Mahora Paparazzi"; a cheeky girl who worked at the Mahora newspaper and loved to find out secrets. Negi had pegged her immediately as the most likely candidate for a memory-wipe spell. She had once described herself as "a slave to the truth".

Fourth group: Makie Sasaki: the carefree gymnast who always had been almost overly friendly with him. Negi had eventually realized though that she was like that with everyone. She simply was overflowing with energy and invested it all in happiness and spunkiness.

Yuna Akashi: a tough girl who was the daughter of one of the professors on the academy. She was a basketball player who had a whole lot of grit and was one of the more tomboyish girls of the class. Negi wasn't sure he liked her obsession with her dad though.

Akira Okoshi: the girl who Motoko Aoyama had reminded Negi of. She was a serene, collected girl who did everything she did with a kind of elegance. She was also the Mahora junior high swimming champion.

Ako Izumi: a timid girl who considered herself a side-character in life. Negi had heard that she had been subject to a pretty horrid accident earlier in life and had a memento of it across her back. She worked in the nurse's office despite having a phobia against blood, something Negi respected greatly, and she was high on his list over girls he wanted to help.

Mana Tatsumiya: Negi had many peculiar girls in his class but Mana took the prize. She was a mercenary Negi had met during his time in that branch and he had been amazed by her skill with a gun. She was the reason Negi had gotten his magical gun. What she did here though was anybody's guess.

Fifth group: Yue Ayase: the small laconic girl who was the leader of the baka-rangers. Negi had learned that she had lost her grandfather a few years ago and had become totally apathetic for a while. Her friend Nodoka had gotten her out of it however and Yue was now utterly devoted to Nodoka's happiness.

Haruna Saotome: Another probable candidate for the memory-wipe spell. She was a manga artist who held an intense dislike for secrets of all kinds and had become friends with Nodoka and Yue in the library exploration group. She too was devoted to Nodoka.

Nodoka Miyazaki: Easily the most timid and withdrawn girl in the class. She was terrified of men and it had taken weeks before he could even have a short conversation with her. Negi had eventually learned why though. Shizuna had told him that Nodoka's father had sexually abused his daughter. Negi had taken great care to support her in every way he could.

Konoka Konoe: The sweet innocent girl who didn't have any idea of the power she possessed. Negi had decided to not give up until he was allowed to train her. She had the potential to become the greatest healer ever and Negi simply couldn't allow that to be wasted.

Asuna Kagurazaka: The girl for whom he came to Japan. The girl he had sworn to free. The girl for whom he had suffered his attention. The girl who had become his partner during the incident with Evangeline.

Group six only held two members.

Setsuna Sakurazaki: the joker in the deck as it was. Trained in the God's Cry arts, born in Kyoto, a member of the kendo club. That was all he knew. She could be anything. Friend, Foe, bystander. She still carried the sword-case.

Zazie Rainyday: An enigma. She was definitely aware of the supernatural world, but obviously in a way Negi didn't understand. She had power, but not that kind he was used to. He had decided to leave her be since she seemed content with watching the world. There was no reason to do anything else and even if he got really curious he respected her privacy.

Since group six only had two members, Evangeline couldn't go because of the curse and Chachamaru didn't go anywhere without her mistress, Negi decided to put them in other groups and after a little consideration he decided to test Setsuna. He put her in Konoka's group. Konoka seemed overjoyed at the news but Setsuna simply bowed and walked away. Zazie was put in Ayaka's group and then they were off to Kyoto.

* * *

As the Shinkansen ran through the Japanese countryside Negi was going through the possible scenarios for the trip. The class would be pretty safe between Seruhiko, him and, in a worst-case scenario, Asuna, Ku Fei, Kaede, and Mana. What still concerned him was Setsuna though; he needed to find out more about her. However he was currently embroiled in a card game with Sakurako who had practically shoved him into the seat. 

The game was a pretty advanced one where you fought magic duels. Sakurako had borrowed him a stack of cards and he had quickly shuffled though them. He was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire game was somewhat similar to one he had played as a kid and also that Sakurako had given his some quite good cards. He had quickly chosen the cards he wanted to use and begun the game.

The ditzy girl's face was surprisingly focused as she looked at the cards currently active. Negi had thus far managed to survive her spells through a series of weakening spells that rendered most of her attacks about as impotent as a nudge. However, the spells were still out and soon his barriers would fall, when they did, he would be hit by all her spells and lose all his health points, he only had two left. The final round of the game begun and Sakurako put out another fire-spell, she had pushed him to the edge and now she would finally break through and finish him.

"Here sensei!" She smiled is she put out a "Fire-storm" card, "I win!"

"Do you now?" Negi asked. "After all, you don't know what this card is." He held up the last card with the inside against his palm so that the other girls wouldn't see what it was.

"Let me guess. Another weakening spell?" Sakurako jeered certain of her victory.

"What if it isn't" Negi asked, "What if I've held on to this card because I know how you play and knew that it would be the key to victory? What if you will be defeated through the use of guile instead of force?"

"So what is it? Come on, show me!"

"Game, set, match, Sakurako-san." Negi put out his card, Sakurako stared in horror at it.

Magic Backlash: Nullifies all the opponent's active offensive spells and makes the opponent suffer one point of damage for every level of offensive magic he has in play._The warlock's eyes widened as the magic burning in his blood suddenly jerked and flew back into him, utterly annihilating him in a second._

"Let's see," Negi started to count "Two level three Thunder spells, three level two Firebolts, one level Four fire-blast and one level six Fire-storm. All in all, twenty-two points of damage, you now have minus two points of health left, I win." Negi got up and left his student in a state of shock as he headed towards Konoka, who sat a few rows away.

"Excuse me Konoka-san?" He said as he reached her, she was sitting talking with Asuna, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure." She said.

"Do you know Setsuna-san from earlier? It seemed like that when we left Tokyo."

For the first time Konoka seemed down, almost sad. She told him of how they had been friends when they were small. Konoka had grown up in a large estate and been a very lonely child. Setsuna had been sent to her by the Gods' Cry. She had already then trained Kendo and done her best to protect Konoka from danger, even if it was only such dangers as loose dogs. But one day Konoka had fallen into the river and Setsuna had tried to save her. She had done everything she could but in the end they both had to be saved by adults. Setsuna had been devastated by her incapability to protect her and sworn to become stronger. A short while after that she had left and Konoka hadn't seen her until the start of Junior High. But then she had been a completely different person; distant, even cold. Konoka was almost crying at the end of her story. She wondered what she had done wrong to make her friend grow so cold. Negi put a hand on her shoulder and comforted her.

Then suddenly everything went to hell.

He heard the girls starting to scream and when he looked up to see what it was he saw frogs, hundreds of them. They were all over the place and the girls were desperately trying to get away from them. Negi dived to the floor and begun collecting them. After about twenty minutes the situation was under control and Negi had stuffed the frogs into a large sack. This was unbelievable. The arrogance of them! The Kansai mages had summoned a swarm of animals in the middle of a crowd of mundanes! This was more than a challenge; it was an insult! He took out the fake letter he had prepared the other day to see if the summoner was on the train. An onmyou swallow came from nowhere and grabbed the letter. Negi smiled slightly and followed it. It would lead him to the mage.

When he reached the end of the train he dashed into cover. He saw Setsuna standing with the letter in her hand and a cut-apart paper figure at her feet. Negi masked his presence and watched the girl as she looked at the letter. This would decide it. Konoka's story had told him a lot but it didn't free Setsuna from any suspicions. If she opened that letter she would get a nasty shock, literally. He had placed an electric trap on it. Setsuna eventually pocketed the letter.

_"You passed that test Se-chan."_ Negi thought using the nickname Konoka had used for her as he walked out into the corridor looking around.

"Have you seen a letter here?" He asked her innocently, "I must have lost it somewhere on the train."

"You mean this?" She held out the envelope.

"Yes that's exactly it." He took it, "Thank you Setsuna-san. You are a life saver."

"You should be more careful Sensei," She said, "Especially when we reach Kyoto." She then walked away.

"You think?" He asked, "I suppose that things must have changed there then. Changes can be a pain don't you think? At least it is for those who are left behind. They lose what's precious without any chance to keep it. " It wasn't subtle, but it did the trick.

Setsuna stopped again. "Sometimes things change for their sake;" She said "They must lose what's precious so that they can be safe." With that she left.

_"You pass with flying colors Setsuna-san."_ Negi thought, whatever she was, it probably wasn't an enemy.

* * *

Upon arriving at Kyoto they immediately started the sightseeing. Negi had been a little unsure but eventually decided that he would show the extremists that he didn't fear them. Their first stop was the Kiyomizu temple. Negi was standing looking out from the famous "Jump-off" spot hearing Yue reciting information about the place. She had virtually everything that was known about the place memorized. Perhaps he should give her a special assignment about temples in English? She might improve her grades that way. Suddenly she mentioned something about a shrine where you could predict love. Negi braced himself as the girls grabbed him and practically carried him off. 

They reached the so called "love-stone" where apparently your dream of love would come true if you could walk from one stone to another with closed eyes. Half of the girls lined up immediately and started to walk. Most of them ended up walking into walls but Ayaka walked quickly towards the stone without erring at all in her course. Makie too was on the right course but she had her eyes slightly open. Then the two girls suddenly fell through the ground. Negi's heart froze to ice as he heard their screams. But when he reached the pit he saw to his relief that it was just a frog-pit. Asuna helped him with pulling them out of the pit and told the class rep that that was what she got for cheating. While Nodoka eventually managed to reach the stone Ayaka was fervently denying that she had cheated. Negi noticed that Setsuna had impassively watched the whole incident.

Then they headed to the Otowa waterfall that was said to grant you health, wisdom or true love depending which of the streams you drank from. Predictably, the girls took the love stream. He sighed as he took a sip from the health stream and noticed that Setsuna had disappeared again. When he looked after her he suddenly saw that half of the girls had passed out. He immediately took a sip from the water and spat it out. It had been spiked with sake. He gritted his teeth and told Shizuna that they better get to a hotel since the class was exhausted. He had to get them out of here; he wasn't in control of the situation at all. It was time to retreat.

* * *

When they arrived at the hotel Negi and Asuna managed to get the girls into their rooms. Negi sat down in the lobby starting to think through the situation when it was done. Then Asuna came out. 

"Okay I covered for them saying that they were exhausted." She told him, "Now that they are snoring in their rooms, tell me, what in the world happened?"

Negi sighed. "I'll give you the short version: One of the reasons we chose to travel to Kyoto was because I need to deliver a letter. There are forces in this city, however, that don't want that letter to reach its goal. The frogs, the spiked water, the pit. It was all warnings; they want us to go home again. They have at three different occasions showed that they could have killed the girls."

"What?!" Asuna stared at him. "Figures it was more magic stuff…" she sighed.

"That's pretty much it."

"So now you are going to ask for my help right?" She said, "Ok, I'll lend you my strength."

Negi smiled, "Good, now our most pressing concern is Setsuna-san. She is up to something and I want to know what it is. I don't think that she is with our enemies but I want to be sure. Now, she is a skilled fighter and if she would try anything you must know how to use your card. You can activate it and give yourself the power-up I gave you against Evangeline by holding it and saying. "Contract execution," then you say the amount of time you want it to be active, don't say more than ten minutes, it'll be too draining for me. You finish with "Negi magi Asuna Kagurazaka." Got it?"

"Got it? But are you sure she's a danger? She was Konoka's friend as kid wasn't she?"

"And then she disappeared and when they met again she was cold as ice. I won't take any risks."

"Negi sensei," Shizuna said, the busty nurse came in wearing a bathrobe, "the teachers are going to finish the day early with a bath, ok?"

"Sure." Negi got up. "Group five is after us aren't they?"

"Yes, the evening's free afterwards." Shizuna said.

"Keep an eye open." Negi muttered as he walked by Asuna. "We're not safe yet."

As he got into the water he took a deep breath and relaxed, despite the water smelling slightly of sulfur the sensation was exquisite. He felt every muscle in his body relax as he sunk down to his nose in the warm water. He came to think of something and sat up looking at his torso. As he had feared the scars were fading. The taint was still working on him. Within a few months he might very well be unrecognizable, changed into a flawless, inhuman being.

* * *

Setsuna walked out into the bath and took up a bucket. As she filled it with water she thought about the day. The Kansai extremists had been even bolder than she thought. She would have to keep an eye out. And then there was Negi-sensei. What was he? It was obvious that he was more than the eye could see. When he had been in Harajuku with Konoka-ojou-sama Setsuna had for just a split second felt massive ki from him. He had been radiating strength beyond even Tokou-sensei's. And he had later given her a veiled threat that he wouldn't allow any "accidents" to happen. But for what side did he play? She knew the rumors about him in the supernatural world. The son of the Thousand Master; he had traveled the world since the age of ten, he had been the one who told the God's cry about the Heaven's Wing and united them. But what was he here? Friend? Foe? She poured the water over her when she heard movement in the water. 

Her instincts kicked in immediately, "Assassin!" she thought and put out the torch that lit the area.

"Who's there?!" She yelled before drawing her sword and dashing towards the rock from which she had heard the sound. She focused her ki and intoned mentally. _"Zanganken!"_ and swung the sword against the rock. To her amazement the blade was caught before it even reached the stone. The other spun around her and she felt a strong arm wrapping itself around her neck and another grabbing the hand that held the sword and twisting it so that she dropped it. The grip was incredibly strong and Setsuna realized that she would never be able to escape it.

"Now, if you ask such a question you really should wait until you have gotten an answer before wrecking the area." A familiar voice said. Setsuna's eyes flew wide open; it was Negi-sensei!

* * *

She really was good, Negi thought. She used the God's Cry signature move well. Negi's hand was bleeding slightly as a testament to that. He had used the "dragon-scale" techniques of the Heaven's Wing to parry it but she had still wounded him somewhat. 

"Now its Q&A time, who are you working for, what is your mission and what do you know of the Kansai extremists?" He continued with an ice-cold voice. "Answer!" He snapped and held the grip a little tighter. The fact that they both were naked didn't matter, his mind had sunken into "battle-mode" and didn't even notice such details.

"I-I'm… assigned t-to protect… Konoka oujo-sama…" She gasped, "I-I work for… h-her father… Eishun Konoe... Th-the Kansai… extremists… might try to… kidnap her…"

"Then why did you steal the letter?!" He decided to prod her a little more. He already knew the truth but hoped to shake out a little more info.

"I… didn't… I destroyed the paper… golem that stole it… I returned it to you…"

"Why should I believe that? You might just be trying to make me drop my guard."

"No! I'm your… ally for th-the… time being… I… swear on my… honor as …a… warrior of the… God's cry."

That was enough for the time being. He dropped her when they heard a scream from the hotel. Their heads turned towards the entrance and they both dashed inside. There they saw Asuna and Konoka being attacked by hundreds of small monkeys. Negi recognized it as summoned animals. He focused his ki and leapt in amongst them. "Heaven's Wing secret technique," He intoned mentally, "Wind of the Underworld!" His arms moved in a blur as he spun around swinging his arms in wide arcs striking the monkeys. Every hit turned its target back into a paper doll. Several of the monkeys vanished but the remaining then grabbed Konoka as one and ran out of the door with her.

Then Setsuna acted and leapt out of the door and unleashed another of the God's Cry techniques that created a circle of ki around her and destroyed the remaining monkeys. She caught Konoka before the latter hit the ground. Negi followed them outside and threw a stone against a nearby tree where he had sensed someone. Konoka's presence forced him to not use magic. Konoka stared at Setsuna before she opened her mouth.

"What just happened? D-did you help me Se-chan?" she asked. "Thank you." Her face was filled with happiness. Setsuna suddenly dropped Konoka as if she had been burned and ran inside. Asuna had come out and seen the entire scene.

"What is going on?" she asked.

* * *

When they had gotten Konoka to her room Asuna and Negi was walking through the halls. Negi was currently inspecting the hallways to ensure that the students went to their rooms. In case someone tried anything the girls were better off sleeping. Kaede had, when he met her, leaned in and told him that if he needed help she would give it. Negi decided to remember that promise. After getting the students to their rooms he decided to find Setsuna again. He and Asuna eventually found her putting up protective talismans around the entrances to ward off summoned animals. 

"Good thinking Setsuna-san," he said upon inspecting her handiwork. "I'd rather not have monkeys trying to eat me when I sleep. But I'm surprised you can use that stuff too."

"It helps my swordsmanship to a degree." She said, "But should we really talk about this with Kagurazaka-san present."

"She's already in on it." Negi sad.

"Big time." Asuna added.

"Very well…" She sat down in the lobby. "The enemy is stepping up their attacks. Sooner or later ojou-sama might get hurt; we'll have to prevent that."

"Do you know who's behind this?" Asuna asked.

"Probably a splinter faction of the Kansai magic association. From what we have seen I believe that it's a group of talisman users."

"Those mages use magical talismans as a basis for their magic. It uses ki instead of magic and is much more easy to use in a way. But it's not as flexible as western magic since you need to prepare the talismans before using them. They also use summoned beings, usually demons, to a large extent." Negi clarified to Asuna.

"And then there's the relation between the Gods' Cry and the talisman users." Setsuna continued, "The God's Cry is a school of swordsmen dedicated to protecting Kyoto and avenging misuse of magic. The warriors of Gods' Cry have often acted as protectors for the talisman users."

"Some people believe that it was they who inspired the ministra tradition." Negi cut in. "But you mean that we might be up against the Gods' Cry as well?"

"That's right, from their viewpoint I'm technically a traitor since I left Kyoto to follow Konoka ojou-sama," Setsuna said, "But that was a sacrifice I gladly did for her sake."

"Okay!" Asuna said then, "Knowing that you are trying to protect Konoka is enough for me. I'll help you."

"As will I, we're in the same boat as it is." Negi said. "Now I think we should take a look around the area. I'll take a look around the area while you patrol the halls." He got up, "And Asuna-san."

"What?"

"If you are jumped, use your card," Negi said, "You have it for just that kind of situations. Those monkeys should have been no matches for your artifact." With that he headed outside.

* * *

Negi leapt across the rooftops and scanned the area for anything unusual. He had covered most of the area around the inn now and he hadn't seen anything unusual other than a pair of talismans in the trees. He had removed them as a precaution. Of course, the chances that they would try anything directly after a failed attempt were slim but it was best to be on the safe side. 

As he leapt he suddenly remembered the patrolling he had done during his time amongst the Heaven's Wing. The feeling as he leapt between the branches of the giant trees in Aokigahara, the knowledge that every shadow, every crook and nanny, held something eager to kill you. And now he patrolled the great city Kyoto, a place the Gods' Cry had sworn to keep peace in. It was bizarre that the felt just as unsafe here as in Aokigahara, perhaps more, as this city was supposed to be safe. If things really messed up here he might even be forced to fight his old teacher. According to the traditional interpretation of the Gods' Cry's duties he and his class were the bad ones here. The Samurai of the Kyoto Mountains was just as reactionary as the extremists in some parts. That was why Tsuruko had fought him and Kotaro that time.

He sighed as he focused on the present, brooding could wait, for now, protecting Konoka was the important thing.

After about twenty minutes he decided to check in with Asuna and took up his card.

_"How's it going Asuna?" _He asked, _"Any trouble over at the inn?"_

_"They have kidnapped Konoka!" _Asuna's voice echoed in his head.

_"What?! Did you see who it was?"_

_"Some monkey lady grabbed her and ran off! We're following her now!" _The connection broke and Negi dashed off with maximum speed as he homed in on Asuna through the pactio. That was it, now the Extremists would pay with blood. After a minute he reached her location. The girls were standing below a set of stairs and the enemy on the top of them. He recognized the mage as Chigusa Amagasaki, a troublemaker who despised western mages. She was carrying Konoka slung over her shoulder and had just summoned a large fire. Negi leapt down on the ground and dispelled the fire with an unincanted spell.

"How nice to see you again Chigusa." He said as he walked towards her, he noticed that she had a large gash on her forehead. Apparently Setsuna meant business, that was good. "I see that you haven't shaped up since last we met. Now, I'm willing to drop this whole thing if you drop Konoka-san; now."

"You!" Chigusa recognized him.

"Me." Negi said simply, "Drop her."

"Never!" She snarled.

"Then you're going down. Let's go!" Negi wasn't going to try diplomacy, Chigusa was a fanatic, he dashed towards her flanked by Setsuna and, surprisingly enough, Asuna, the latter summoning her harisen. When they drew near Chigusa the woman summoned her Protective and Superior demons in a desperate attempt to stop them. But Asuna swung the harisen at one of them and Negi used a disruption technique on the other. The two demons vanished in a puff of smoke. Setsuna continued forward towards Chigusa when a shadow leapt from the building behind the talisman user at her. The two collided in the air and when they landed Negi recognized the other. He had met her before; the first time was during the merger of the Gods' Cry and the Heaven's wing. She had been constantly watching him out of the corner of her eye and blushed fiercely whenever he addressed her. It had been Negi's first experience with fans. She was a petite girl with blonde hair who dressed in street-fashion clothes and held a short katana and a kodachi in her hands.

"How do you do?" She asked, "I'm Tsukuyomi of the Gods' Cry. Nice to meet you."

"I don't believe it…" Setsuna said looking at her clothes, "Boy, things must have changed since I left."

"Sure, just underestimate her," Chigusa gloated.

"So you are one too eh? Care to try me?" She leapt at Setsuna and unleashed a flurry of strikes at her. Setsuna was on a disadvantage due to the fact that she wielded a nodachi and that Tsukuyomi had gotten too close for her to use it effectively. Tsukuyomi pressed her advantage and when she got an opening she spun her blades so that she held them in a backhand grip and raised them.

"Tsukuyomi style secret technique," She said, "Six Crescent Moons!" she spun the blades towards Setsuna but before she could hit her Negi appeared in between them standing with one knee in the ground and parried the blades with his hands.

"Heaven's wing secret technique." Negi said, "Scales of the dragon." He looked up at her. "Been a while hasn't it? You really shouldn't cry out your move names like that. It makes it too easy to counter"

"N-Negi-senpai?" Tsukuyomi stared at him.

"Indeed!" Negi struck her in the belly with his palm and she flew away from the impact. He got up and looked towards Chigusa. She trembled as Asuna, Negi and Setsuna approached her from different directions. Suddenly she dropped Konoka and took up a talisman.

"Talisman-san, Oh Talisman-san!" She yelled with fear in her voice. "Slay th …!" She didn't have time to finish before Negi hit her with a disarming spell; Asuna hit her with her sword and sending her flying towards Setsuna who used the Hyakkaryouran, hundred-flower pandemonium. She landed against a wall and Negi was just about to finish it when she disappeared into a pool of water under her. Negi cursed as Setsuna ran up to Konoka and checked her for wounds. Tsukuyomi had left too it seemed.

"Are you unharmed, ojou-sama?" She asked as Konoka awoke from the magic sleep she had been put in. Konoka blinked before looking at Setsuna.

"I-I had the weirdest dream." She said, "There were these monkeys and they…"

"It's all right ojou-sama," Setsuna said. "They won't harm you anymore. Everything will be alright."

Konoka looked at her. "I'm so happy," She said with tears of joy in her eyes, "To know that you didn't hate me." Setsuna suddenly backed off. She fell to her knees and said,

"I apologize! I… Kono-chan, to protect you is the greatest happiness I could ever ask for. But it is for the best if I do it from the shadows." She rose and hurried away.

"I guess it's hard to just make up all of a sudden…" Asuna said before yelling. "Setsuna-san! We're supposed to go to Nara tomorrow! See you there!" She then turned to Konoka again. "Just relax Konoka, it's alright," she said.

_"Is it?" _Negi thought,_ "I only know of one man who can use water magic to the level where he could teleport others without even being near them… And he's supposed to be in Istanbul…"_

He got a feeling this trip would be harder than he had originally thought.

* * *

A/N: And thus the Kyoto Arc has begun in earnest. This Chapter also marks the start of a new era. A change that will affect the entire story. 

I've gotten a beta-reader.

Everybody! Stand up and give Sweet Heavens a round of applause! This guy is now officially my beta-reader and he will help me with the rest of his story.

Concerning the chapter itself I've taken the liberly of introducing all the girlsd in the class according to Negi's perspective. Unfortunately these girls are becoming side-characters in this story as focus is on the internal struggle. Therefore I've taken this chance to give them a little more time in the spotlight. One of my desicions was to give a good reason why Nodoka is so terrified of men, please don't hate me. Other than that I've taken the liberty of changing Tsukuyomi's clothes (I frikkin' HATE that loli-goth style, it's freaky) and a good example of her clothes would be this link.(if it works that is) h t t p / s p a d e r 7 - n a r u t o . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m / art/Street-fashion-Naruto-girls-59428516

I was thinking on Sakura's (she with pink hair for those few unfortunate souls who hasn't seen naruto) clothes when I wrote this.

Other than that: read, review and all that. Your opinions really are important to me, I need to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.


	26. All hail the prince

**Chapter 25: All hail the prince**

* * *

As could be expected several of the girls were hung over the following day. Therefore the breakfast was a pretty subdued affair and the hotel's large dining room enjoyed some modicum of peace compared to what could have been. However; it was only subdued for being 3-A. The girls who had drunk of the spiked water was complaining about not remembering the first day, Nitta-sensei was loudly scolding a group of girls who had almost started a food-fight and in the middle of everything Negi and Asuna sat trying to eat their breakfast. Trying to shut out all the commotion in the rest of the dining room they were talking about the previous night.

"…Have time to think I just swung wildly." Asuna told him about her performance during the battle as she took a bite of her food. Apparently the wife of the hotel owner worked in the kitchen and was half the reason this place was popular. Asuna was inclined to agree. Judging from the steel benches they sat on she had expected much worse than this. The sterile steel tables and benches were really at odds with the delicious food.

"Don't worry; thinking on your feet is something you learn after a few battles." Negi told her, "Well, either that, or you die."

"Wow, thanks a lot." Asuna said sourly.

"Hey Negi-kun, hey Asuna" Konoka came with her food tray and sat down by them.

"Good morning Konoka-san." Negi said.

"Thanks for last night." Konoka continued, "I don't remember too much but I know you saved me from trouble."

"Think nothing of it." He said when they saw Setsuna walking by them.

"Hey Se-chan!" Konoka said, "Sit with us!" Setsuna flinched when Konoka spoke up and hurried away. Konoka was about to get up and follow her when Negi put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Konoka-san," he said. "I'll take care of this." He got up and went after Setsuna who had sat down by one of the empty tables. When he reached her he sat down in front of her.

"You're an idiot." He said bluntly as he flicked a finger at her forehead.

"E-excuse me?" Setsuna looked at him.

"You're an idiot." He repeated. "Weren't you supposed to protect her?"

"I am!" She said, "But if I get too close to her I won't be able to protect her as well as I have to."

"Are you referring to the swimming incident?" Negi said, "You were, what, five years? Things have changed since then, but one thing hasn't changed. Konoka still sees you as a friend. She wants to have the Se-chan she played ball with back."

"I can't." Setsuna insisted, "I need to remain distant for her own safety."

"Then you'll only hurt her." He snapped, "Konoka lives for others, there isn't a selfish bone in her body. Helping and being with others is her life. If you deny her her best friend in order to protect her you will kill her heart to protect her body. You do the same mistake as her father you know. Distance never protects anyone, especially not someone who thrives on proximity, and your actions are cutting her better than any blade since you are cutting her soul. If you claim to be her bodyguard you need to protect her from yourself as well. If you can't do that you will fail in your task. Sometimes it is that simple. And tell me, do you want to protect "Eishun's daughter" or "Kono-chan"?" With that he got up from the chair and walked over to Asuna and Konoka again.

* * *

When they were heading out for Nara the girls were all crowding around him asking for him to join their groups during the day. Especially Sakurako, Makie and Fuuka nearly jumped him. To his surprise Nodoka spoke up as well. 

"I-is there any chance that you'd like to spend the day with us?" she stuttered. Negi made his choice immediately.

"I'll take group five today." He said. Considering the last night there wasn't really any choice. He had to stay close to Konoka. 3-A, being what they were didn't become angry with her for winning but cheered for the winner. They went to Nara with bus and Negi was amazed by the fact that deer really walked the streets. It looked like a scene out of the Garden of Eden. At least until one of the deer came up to him and began to nibble on him. Negi had to run away from it.

"What's wrong with you?!" He asked as the deer came after him seemingly intent on having his fingers for lunch, "Shouldn't they warn us about cannibal deer?" Asuna was currently laughing herself to death watching the scene.

"Looks like the big bad mage isn't so tough after all," She teased him when he finally got away from it.

"Shut up, or I'll make you read every bit of text in the textbook in front of the class," Negi tried desperately to suppress his sheepish smile. "Bambi the man-eater… there goes that fairytale."

"I'll think we'll be safe today Negi-sensei," Setsuna said as she came up beside them, effectively killing the good mood, looking around, "Our enemy will need more time to plan, still, I've left an onmyou god with the other groups that will warn us just in case and I'll shadow ojou-sama."

"Why shadow her? Just walk beside her for heaven's sake." Asuna said amusedly.

"Uh, no. I can't act so friendly to her."

"What did I say this morning?" Negi asked. Setsuna fell silent when suddenly the rest of the group came rushing. Yue and Haruna dragged off Asuna to look at the Buddha and Konoka was carrying a plate of rice-balls asking Setsuna if she wanted some. The latter recoiled and was about to run when Negi gave her an ice cold gaze that said clearly what would happen if she ran away.

"Thank you ojou-sama." She bowed and was led off by Konoka to a bench where they could eat. Negi had a feeling something was going on as he realized that he was left alone. Then Nodoka came seemingly intent on saying something but she trembled and appeared uneasy. Negi guessed that her fear of men made it hard for her to be alone with him. He decided that the best thing to do was to keep her occupied.

"Would you like to take a look at the place Nodoka-san?" He said in a calming voice.

"Uh, ah, yeah, I'd be happy to!" She said; the poor girl seemed terrified. Negi felt his disgust for her father flare up inside him. They headed inside the big temple to take a look. The temple was really amazing but Negi noticed that Nodoka mostly held her eyes at him as if he was a dangerous animal. He probably was that to her. He had to keep her occupied and pointed at the Buddha's chest.

"Do you see that symbol on his chest?" He asked her, she looked at it and nodded. "The swastika, here it's an ancient symbol of the sun, strength, power and good luck. But in Europe it's considered an evil symbol."

"R-really?" She asked.

"Yes, the Nazis of Germany, the ones who started World War II, took that symbol and used it as their own. So now today in Europe, this symbol is associated with them and their many atrocities. It's a shame don't you think?"

"Y-yes…" She didn't appear especially relaxed.

"I really like the statue though," he simply said, "It's really a work of art. Don't you agree?"

"Eh… Y-yes."

They went over to a table with fortune slips.

"I… like fortune telling!" She suddenly blurted out.

"Would you like one?" He asked.

"No! I mean yes! I… the Buddha! No!" She was on the verge of panic. Negi took a step back; she might bolt at any second. He thought furiously about a way to calm her and saw a hole in one of the pillars. He knew about this one.

"Hey, Nodoka-san," He said, "Have you seen this hole? It's supposed to be the size of Buddha's nostril and if you can crawl through it you will be granted intelligence and wishes."

"What? Whishes?" She said, "I'll do it." She virtually leapt into the hole and started to crawl. Negi quickly hurried to the other side so he wouldn't accidentally look up her skirt. When she had gotten halfway she suddenly stopped.

"I - I'm stuck!" She yelped. Negi cursed and hunched down to help her. Her eyes flew wide open as he came closer and he stopped.

"Don't worry Nodoka-san," He said with a calming voice, "I'm not going to hurt you; I'm only going to help you out of the hole." He slowly held out his hand. She grabbed it and he started to pull. When she finally came loose she stumbled and ended up in his arms. He backed off and smiled at her. "There," He said. Nodoka was seemingly on the verge of tears. Negi decided to sit down with her and discuss the thing with her. They found a bench outside and Negi sat down beside her but was careful to have a certain amount of distance between them.

"You don't need to be afraid of me Nodoka-san." He said kindly, "I won't hurt you. I'm your teacher."

"No… I mean, yes, it's just… I'm sorry!" She seemed terrified.

"You have nothing to apologize for Nodoka-san." He said gently, now came the hard part, "I know why you are so afraid. I just want you to know that I won't ever do that. Never ever. And I don't think you are a bad person because of it. It's not your fault and I want you to know that I'm here to help you in whatever way I can."

Nodoka trembled she held her arms around her and Negi saw a tear running down her cheek. He held out a hand towards her and carefully put it on her shoulder. She then grabbed his arm and he heard her sobs. She eventually threw herself at him and began to cry. He embraced her and held her. She stayed in his arms for several minutes until all her tears were spent. He took out his handkerchief and wiped her face with it.

"I'm sorry sensei." She hiccupped.

"It's all right; this kind of things is why I'm here." Negi smiled at her, "I'm meant to help you and to me that isn't only about schoolwork. It's about everything. Whatever you need help with, ask me and I'll do everything I can for you."

"I-I know…" She hesitated, "And that's why… Thank you sensei." She said. Negi helped her up.

"Want to go find the others?" He asked.

"Yes."

* * *

When they got back to the hotel Negi went to his room. He had taken measures to ensure that he'd get his own room. The kinds of secrets he carried were too dark to let Seruhiko know. The latter had been informed of the incidents last night and they had decided that he'd stay out of it. He had virtually no knowledge of combat magic and in a case of emergency his protective magic would be used to seal off the hotel. Negi, Asuna and Setsuna would be the ones who took the offensive. 

When he got into his room he slipped into a yukata and sat down by the table with Thanata's tome in his hand. He was still a novice and needed all the training he could get. The taint wasn't under his control yet. In order to control it he'd need to master every aspect of it. He had to dive headfirst into a sea of darkness hoping that he'd find the plug.

The current chapter was about the use of mixed energies. Thanata meant that if you mixed magic and taint the power of your spells would be increased tenfold. Kind of how your physical prowess increased tenfold if you mixed ki and magic to create kanka from what he could understand.

He had decided to experiment and was currently trying to learn how to create kanka. He was repeatedly summoning ki and magic into his palm and bringing them together. Takamichi had worked for months before learning even the first stage so Negi didn't have any greater hopes of mastering it within the near future. But suddenly the energies in his palms didn't fizzle and disperse when he brought them together. They lit up and he felt the kanka running through him. The sensation was unlike anything he ever had felt. He thrust out two fingers in the direction of one of the flowerpots in the window. It exploded as the invisible kanka shot out as smashed it to pieces. Unlike Takamichi's, Negi's kanka seemed to try to escape him and through that he could immediately use the kind of Iai-ken techniques Takamichi had worked for years to master. Negi realized that he had in a few hours mastered what had taken Takamichi half his life.

For some reason it made him uneasy. Guilty, he felt like he had stolen something that was Takamichi's.

Now he was ready to try the next part. Gritting his teeth he tried to summon the taint. It felt like dipping his hands into oil and scooping it up He saw it appear in his hand as an oily black cloud. Into his other hand he channeled magic and slowly he brought the energies together. When they met the taint didn't seem to want to escape like when he had used ki. It reached out and seemed to swallow the magic. Negi suddenly felt a wave of nausea and he had to run to the bathroom where he threw up. The feeling was awful! He felt dirty; he felt… he felt tainted.

But at the same time he felt power. It wasn't like magic, which felt like a wildfire, or ki, which felt like a flowing river. It was a dark, ominous feeling, like the air before a thunderstorm. He decided to try a spell.

"Practi-biginaru Ardescat" he chanted, reciting the most basic of spells, one that would summon a small flame at the tip of his finger. He stared at his hand when a large, almost one foot tall sickly green flame appeared in his hand. He quickly dispelled it. It was then that he realized something.

If a simple Ardescat spell would be reinforced to that level what would a White Lightning spell or an Axe of Zeus become? He now realized how Thanata could have destroyed Atlantis. He held power that no one could hope to match. The power of darkness. He swallowed when he realized the consequences and hurried back to the table where he turned to the next chapter, he was done dabbling in that blasphemy.

* * *

When evening had fallen Negi shut the book and sighed. Thanata had really been a queen of evil. She spoke in an almost conversational tone about horrors that made him nauseous. He needed a bath, desperately. Anything to remove the sick, crawling feeling in him. He got into the bath and sighed. A part of him begged for the hot, sulfur-smelling water to purify him. To cleanse him of the grime that covered his soul 

As it were he was perhaps the most tainted being on the planet. He was in possession of the most forbidden lore that existed; he had burned seals into himself that stripped him of his humanity. For a second he wondered what the hell he was doing. He had ensured that he'd be the most hunted man in the world when people found out. He had made himself a crown prince of darkness. If this continued he'd be able to become Thanata's successor. Would his humanity even remain in the end?

And what was he doing this for? A girl. One person. His soul was infected with endless evil for the sake of one person. Then he remembered. It had never been a choice to begin with. The taint had claimed him without any chance of escaping. He was only doing the best of an already abysmal situation. But what would happen when it all was over? Would he still be in control?

He didn't know.

* * *

What was he? What had he become? How deep had he thrown himself into pure evil? Was this how the world would remember Negi Springfield? 

These thought were going through the young mage's head as he headed outside the hotel the next morning. He had decided to deliver the letter as quickly as possible and was heading towards the temple. Asuna was going to meet up with him outside but when he saw her he saw her entire group waiting for him. They were all wearing their casual clothes and Negi was surprised by how different they looked. This far he had only seen then in school uniforms and these clothes really made a difference. They looked more like girls now than they had done in the sexist uniforms they had to wear. He wondered why they were here as he slid his carefree mask on and whistled.

"Wow… Right now I both love and hate my job." He said to them.

"Why sensei?" Haruna asked.

"Love because I got to see you in these cute clothes and hate because of the teacher-student relationship rules." He grinned. Konoka and Nodoka blushed while Haruna laughed. Negi whispered to Asuna.

"Why are they here?" His voice was severe.

"Sorry, Haruna busted me." Asuna said apologetically. "We'll just have to ditch them on the way."

Negi nodded as they headed into the local shopping areas. After walking around for a while Negi found a good place to loose them. It was an arcade and the girls started playing immediately. Negi was pulled into the playing and ended up at a fighting game. It was apparently a new thing that was all the rage in Japan. The game was about mage duels and if you won you got a card for the collectible card variant of it, the game he had played on the train. He chose his character and tried out a few practice runs before he got a challenge from one of the other machines. His opponent was much better than him though, Negi's strength had always been in the more intellectual games, and eventually he was defeated. The guy who had fought him came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Not bad Negi Springfield," a dark voice said, "Though you got a ways t' go as a wizard." Then he left. Negi sat motionless. The guy had just patted him on the shoulder in a manner he recognized. But it was impossible; he had to be imagining things. He got up when Haruna told him that she would show how real masters played. This was the distraction Negi and Asuna needed. They snuck out of the Arcade and headed towards the station. The temple was quite a bit away so they would have to hurry.

* * *

The Kansai Magic Association's main base was located in the middle of a bamboo forest and the path up to it was filled with Shinto gates. Negi had been here before. The first time he had wandered this path Kotaro had attacked him in the middle of the forest. Negi had been caught inside a folded-space trap and Kotaro had jumped him when he tried to get out. As they entered the forest Negi told Asuna of this incident. 

"It's not probable that the same thing will happen again but I'd like to be prepared in case we're jumped here." He finished.

"How big is the risk that they will await us?" Asuna asked.

"Big," Negi said, "This path is very secluded even if it's right in front of the temple. And I don't know what we'll expect at the temple."

"Didn't you say Konoka's father lived there?"

"To be honest, the way he has handled his task to restore order I wouldn't be surprised if the extremists were awaiting us inside the temple." Negi said, he was everything but impressed by Eishun at the moment and he would have to answer for his incompetence. He flinched when he realized what he was thinking. Where did that come from?

The path continued onwards and after a pair of minutes Negi sighed.

"Yep, they tried the same trick this time. And we walked right into it." He said as the reached the resting place. "Let's sit down and rest, whoever caught us in here will show up pretty soon. We might as well sit down and rest a little before the battle starts."

Suddenly Negi's eyes widened and he leapt to the side just in time to avoid a swarm of black ephemeral wolves that crashed into his position.

"Th' funny thing is that last time you ran 'round like a scared baby." A voice said from the trees. Negi narrowed his eyes; he hadn't been imagining things at the arcade.

"That was five years ago," He said, looking at the speaker, "I'm not who I was then Kotaro."

* * *

A/N: Negi Springfield now knows that his old friend is alive. The brave and fierce boy who was closer to him than any other for yeras didn't die. But their meeting is too reminiscent of that timer they first saw each other. How did his friend survive? And why does he seek to harm him? The answers will be given in time but not today. 

Another chapter is up and the dangers of Kyoto are more apparent than ever. Both the internal and external threats are growing stronger and stronger and is any man capable of truly winning this kinds of struggles? Negi is only getting more and more aware of what he has become and it scares him. The part wtih Nodoka was a spur-of-the-moment thing to flest out Negi's character as a teacher, however will this man the girls love and respect even remain in the end?

And, just so that you all know: I know this chapter is kinda short but I wanted a cliffie here.

And on another note I must say that I've been disappointed in the lack of reviews lately. I'm not going to stop publishing this fic just because I don't feel that I'm not getting reviewed anough but it's getting annoying. Are my chapters really so bland that the only guy that can be bothered to review is my beta? I can see that I'm having readers; the story is currently at 21 favs, 19 alerts and 3 c2's. I have about 13000 hits all in all and after only a few days the hit score for the latest chapter is over 100. So seriously: Is there no one that thinks anything of this fic? Is it really that bad? Tell me what you think of this story and help me to get better damn it! That's why I'm even publishing it.


	27. Escalation

**Chapter 26: Escalation**

* * *

Negi looked at his old friend who was standing in the trees. Normally he would have been overjoyed to know that he was alive but now he knew that there was only one plausible reason why he was here. Kotaro was a mercenary. The extremists had hired him. He took a good look at Kotaro and saw how much he had changed.

His once dark eyes were now like those of a wolf, yellow and slitted. The denim jacket was replaced with a heavy leather one and his t-shirt was replaced with a black mesh shirt. The jeans were still the same but the necklace of wolf teeth around his neck was new, just like the black fingerless gloves. The claws were much more prominent and his teeth had become fangs. His hair was longer even if it still had the same style and his feet were covered in heavy combat boots. His overall appearance could only be described as fierce, he looked much more like the half-inugami he was now.

"You've changed too it seems." Negi said after a while.

"Took me three years t' get outta the forest." Kotaro said, "Ain't possible t' live there without changin'"

"I'm happy you survived though. I was sure you had died."

"Hey Negi" Asuna asked, "Who's that?"

"The name's Kotaro girlie." Kotaro said, "Old friend of 'im there. And it ain't so easy t' kill me, you should know." He suddenly smiled, "Funny ain't it? Things are just like then 'cept you got your girlfriend taggin' along now. "

"I wonder what god I pissed off…" Negi sighed. "And she's my student."

"Yeah, yeah… Nothin' personal though Negi," The hanyō said as he cracked his knuckles, "Just got told th' beat up a messenger. Too good pay t' not do it."

"If I win, will you tell me how to get out?"

"Sure," Kotaro grinned as he leapt down from the trees, "I'll even let you get the first punch."

"That always was your greatest weakness," Negi said before suddenly vanishing and reappearing behind him with his fist pulled back. "You're too arrogant!" The mage swung around with a powerful punch that sent the mercenary flying.

* * *

Meanwhile Setsuna and Konoka were running through the streets. After Negi and Asuna had disappeared Setsuna had picked up several enemies in the area. When Setsuna had caught a swarm of throwing needles that came flying against them she realized that they had to flee. After a few minutes the samurai saw that they had reached cinema village. That would be a good place to loose their shadows. She mumbled something to the other girls in the group about wanting to spend some time alone with Konoka and darted into the village.

When they had entered Setsuna took some time to look behind her. The streets here were too crowded for the enemy to try anything. At least she hoped so. Konoka interrupted her thinking.

"Se-chan, Se-chan!" She called out. Setsuna turned to face her and saw her in a dazzlingly beautiful red kimono. She looked amazing, like a princess out of some old legend. "What do you think se-chan?" she asked.

"O-ojou-sama… where did you get that outfit?"

"They borrowed me it at the dressing area over there." She said, "Hey, let me get one for you too!" she added suddenly and pulled Setsuna into the building. After a minute they came out again, Setsuna was now wearing a samurai outfit complete with wakizashi, forehead protector and a Shinsengumi coat.

"Why did you dress me up in men's clothes?" Setsuna asked, sweatdropping.

"Because it suits you Se-chan," Konoka said, "Let's go, let's go."

"_It suits me like a hole in the head." _Setsuna thought, for some reason she felt sad by the fact that Konoka thought she looked like a man. But she quickly pushed the feeling away as they made their way through the crowed streets. Konoka was like an eager child and Setsuna couldn't help but feeling happy too. She couldn't remember having this fun since… since they were children… Setsuna felt, for the first time in years, truly _happy _as they walked through the streets.

But then a shuriken came whirling through the air towards Konoka. Setsuna caught it and dropped into combat stance. A swarm of people in samurai outfits came out from the roofs, the alleys and the crowds, from everywhere. Their empty eyes made Setsuna realize that they were just summons. But they still were armed.

The samurai surrounded them and Setsuna prepared to fight them off as a samurai dressed in red leapt into the circle. This one held out her arm and the rest sheathed their blades Setsuna recognized the samurai; It was Tsukuyomi.

"Princess," she said bowing to Konoka, "We are here to take back the princess." She said turning to Setsuna, "You will hand her over in this instant!"

"What the…?" Setsuna stood like fallen from the skies, what was this about?

"It's an act Se-chan." Konoka whispered. Setsuna realized what was going on; by pretending it was an act the crowd wouldn't interfere. She had to play along, if the crowd got in the way innocents might get hurt.

"Never!" She exclaimed, "You will not touch Ojou-sama! I will defend her to the end!"

"No?" Tsukuyomi said, "Then I suppose there is no other way… At the great bridge, thirty minutes from now you will face me, if you win there, we with pull back, if you lose, you will relinquish her. And don't attempt to run away, there would be… tragic consequences" A cloud of smoke erupted from the ground and when it cleared the samurai were gone. Setsuna gritted her teeth. The rooftops were filled with strong ki presences. They were surrounded. She would have no choice but to comply with Tsukuyomi's demands.

Konoka believed that it all was an act though and she had to keep smiling. Setsuna couldn't bring herself to tell her the seriousness of the situation. It was then that some of the other girls appeared out of nowhere. Apparently they had witnessed the entire exchange and believed that it was for real. Setsuna almost choked on her tongue when she realized that they thought she and Konoka were in love. The girls were too riled up for her to put an end to their absurd ideas and insisted on following her to the bridge.

* * *

Negi leapt from gate to gate furiously dodging Kotaro's summons. The hanyō was running after him, constantly launching the black ephemeral wolves that were his trademark. He hadn't just been arrogant; he really was good. Kotaro was just as strong and quick as him, if not more, and his wild, unpredictable fighting style had improved spectacularly. The only things that had kept Negi from loosing were the fact that he knew Kotaro's style somewhat from their time together and a few well-placed spells. Asuna was busy battling a swarm of summoned giant spiders on the path below them and the forest had started to burn. The whole thing was like a scene from hell.

Kotaro suddenly appeared in front of him with a Shundo, his hands cupped around a swirling black orb of energy. He thrust his palms forward and the attack sent Negi flying. The mage crashed into the path where one of the spiders broke his fall.

Kotaro didn't waste any time and charged him with a triumphant roar. The half-inugami was enjoying the fight immensely; he seemed to savor every moment of it. The hanyō was much more animalistic, more savage, than Negi had ever seen him.

He held out his hands and summoned ki into one and magic into the other. Bringing them together he dashed towards Kotaro, his hands glowing with kanka. He swung at Kotaro who sidestepped it and sent an elbow-strike towards his neck. Negi spun around and parried it with his other hand sending another punch against the hanyō, this time for real. A beam of energy that crashed into Kotaro and sent him flying accompanied the punch. Kotaro spun around in the air and landed on his feet nearly a hundred meters away. They closed the distance in only a second and fought on.

"Damn you're slick!" Kotaro yelled with a wide grin on his face, "That's Takamichi's trick ain't it? I thought you'd become a sissy th' way you look, damn I'm glad t' be wrong!"

"That's not all I got!" Negi smiled too. During his time with Kotaro he had always smiled when he fought. His friend had brought out something in him that enjoyed the adrenaline-packed feeling of combat. After Kotaro's supposed death he had lost that feeling and become impassionate about fighting. But as he fought his old friend on the very spot they had first met he felt the feeling return, ten times as strong.

* * *

"_Oh boy…"_ Setsuna sweatdropped as her classmates paraded alongside her on the road towards the bridge. The whole thing was simply ridiculous. Tsukuyomi waited on the bridge, her swords at the side.

"So you did come." She said, "Well then, let's not delay your death." Her eyes were gleaming with bloodlust, a face Setsuna had seen before; on her sensei when she got truly angry.

"Se-chan…" Konoka said, "She scares me…" The girl seemed, for the first time, nervous.

"Don't worry Ojou-sama," Setsuna turned to her and smiled as she spoke, "No matter what, I will protect you." She was about to get onto the bridge when the other girls showed both their ignorance of what was going on and their willingness to aid their friends as they stepped forward.

"Hey if you are planning to mess with Setsuna-san you'll have to face us first!" Haruna said, getting shouts of agreement from the other girls.

Tsukuyomi snickered. "You serious? Very well, you can play with my pets." She threw out a swarm of paper talismans that transformed into small spirit creatures. "Now let's go everybody!"

Setsuna leapt past the creatures, which launched themselves at her classmates. The creatures were too small to do anything more than harass the girls but that they did well. On the bridge however a furious fight began. This time Setsuna wasn't surprised and had enough maneuvering space to keep Tsukuyomi's short swords away from her but it still only was enough to even the odds, not tip them in her favor. Her opponent was very skilled and she constantly tried to get closer to her where Setsuna's long nodachi would be useless.

Tsukuyomi then leapt into the air holding her blades in the backhand grip Setsuna had seen the last night. She spun them around cutting the air and for every cut an arc of pale white ki flew at Setsuna. She realized that this had to be the "Six Crescent Moons" technique and leapt out of the way of the first two arcs. The third and fourth came at her as she flew through the air. She unleashed an "air-cutting-flash" that destroyed them and when the last two came at her on the ground she leapt to the side. When she collided with another Tsukuyomi her eyes flew wide open. _"Clone technique!"_

"Good distraction, that technique, don't you think?" Tsukuyomi said as her swords fell towards Setsuna's head. They were parried at the last moment and Setsuna pushed her opponent back. Then suddenly she heard cries about something at the roof. They both looked and saw Konoka on the roof and twenty meters from her stood a large demon with a giant bow and an arrow at the ready.

"Give up Konoka-sama!" Chigusa yelled from her place at the demon's side, "You have nowhere to run!"

"Never!" Konoka yelled, "Se-chan will protect me no matter what you do!"

"Do you truly think she can help you now? All I need to do is to snap my fingers and you will die! She can't reach you! Surrender!" The mage bluffed, she tried to intimidate Konoka into surrendering.

Then Konoka was grabbed by a sudden gust of wind and stumbled to the side. The demon let the arrow fly at that moment, obeying its master's command. Chigusa yelled in panic as the giant arrow flew towards Konoka. Setsuna didn't even think as she dashed towards Konoka at full speed.

Setsuna reached the girl before the arrow and stopped in front of her. The arrow pierced the armor, her body and the armor again. She stumbled as she felt herself grow numb. As if in trance she fell off the roof, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Everything went dark when suddenly the world exploded in light.

Her eyes flew open and she saw Konoka beside her floating in the air and keeping her afloat as well. Magic energy was whirling around them and Konoka's eyes were closed as if she was meditating. The slowly landed on the street and Konoka's eyes fluttered open. She smiled at Setsuna before collapsing. Setsuna grabbed Konoka before she could hit the ground and held her.

"Get out of my way!" A voice could be heard for the crown and then Negi came out from it. When he saw Konoka and Setsuna his eyes widened and he looked up at Chigusa with his eyes filled with hate. Setuna could suddenly feel his ki flare in anger. It flared with such power that Setsuna for a moment felt like she was staring into the sun. The talisman user retreated quickly and Negi turned to them. It was that that Setsuna saw how he looked. He had several cuts on him and his clothes were dirty and torn. Setsuna could only imagine what kind of opposition would be necessary to make Negi look like this.

"Are you both all right?" he asked as he checked Konoka's pulse.

"I'm fine, but Konoka-ojou-sama needs to rest."

"Damn it, it was this I feared!" Negi said, "Her powers went haywire and ran amok, we're lucky it was only healing magic, she could have laid waste to the entire area. Anyway, we got enemies closing in; we got to get out of here."

"I agree," Setsuna said, "We'll have to take her home. That is the best place for her now."

"Good, let's get her home." Negi said.

* * *

Negi walked up the road towards the temple with Setsuna, Konoka and Asuna trailing him. He had woven an illusion to hide the evidence of his and Kotaro's battle; the entire area that had been inside the folded-space trap had been burnt to the ground and he didn't want Konoka to see the destruction he had caused only a few hundred meters from her home.

They had barely escaped cinema village, hounded by both the extremists and the other girls. The latter had actually managed to hide a GPS-cell in Setsuna's backpack. Negi had only discovered it by a chance when he used a spell to see if they had any tags on them, he had noticed something strange about Setsuna's cell-phone but passed it off as nothing. If it hadn't been for Konoka asking Setsuna why she didn't buy a cell-phone, and thereby revealing that it wasn't a cell-phone, the other girls would have followed them here.

They saw the opening to the temple and walked up to it. Negi took the lead and strengthened his barrier in a way that would be easily noticed, it was a way for mages to show their lack of trust for someone by entering their home with strengthened barriers.

Their entrance was met by rows of temple servants that bowed to them as they welcomed Konoka home. Asuna stared at the whole thing with wide eyes as Setsuna relaxed and Konoka smiled widely. Negi wasn't amused by the spectacle however; Eishun wasn't off the hook just because he let cherry-blossoms rain down at them. The servants showed them into a large room where more servants were playing different instruments. At the far end of the large room they sat down on pillows. Asuna leaned towards Negi and whispered.

"I knew that Konoka was the daughter of this guy but this wasn't what I expected, it's like the imperial palace."

Negi smiled at her as Eishun entered. His eyes turned stone cold as he looked upon his father's old friend and the current head of the Kansai mages.

"Sorry to make you wait." Eishun said, "Welcome, Asuna-kun, Setsuna-kun, and Negi-sensei."

"Daddy, it's been so long!" Konoka threw herself into Eishun's arms and hugged him.

"Control, Konoka, control," Eishun said kindly to his daughter. Negi gritted his teeth at this and got up. He walked up to the two of them and reinforced his barriers even more. The look on Eishun's face told Negi that he had felt them. Negi held out the letter and said with a formal, cold voice.

"This is an official letter, given to me by the head of the East and the headmaster of Mahora Academy Konoemon Konoe, to be handed only to the head of the West, Eishun Konoe."

"I thank you for it." Eishun accepted the letter and opened it. After he had read the letter Negi continued.

"Furthermore I have urgent issues to discuss with the head of the West. These matters are to be discussed in privacy."

"I will discuss them with you as soon as I'm able…" Eishun said but was halted by Negi, who held up his hand and flashed the mark in his palm.

"Now!" Negi said with a voice that wouldn't allow any objecting.

Eishun looked at his palm, "Very well, Konoka," He said to his daughter, "perhaps you should show your friends the temple."

"Okay daddy." Konoka smiled.

Eishun returned the smile and showed Negi to his office where he at down behind his desk and motioned for Negi to sit down. Negi didn't move.

"I'm surprised to see that you have been made the Hand of the Welsh Magus Negi-kun." Eishun said when it was clear that he wouldn't sit down, "You really have come far."

"Drop the pleasantries Konoe." If Negi's voice had been cold before, it was like ice now, "You have five minutes to explain why Kyoto is in a state of near anarchy starting now."

"You are referring to Chigusa's activities?"

"No I'm referring to the illegal smuggling of Kobe beef that the Easter bunny has set up." now Negi's patience snapped and he smacked his palms into the desk, "What do you think?" He still kept his voice calm even if it was cold as ice. "My class has already had to deal with three threats, one ambush and three kidnapping attempts, all of this in only 48 hours. What the hell are you doing here Konoe? You had one simple task. One. Simple. Task. To restore order. And after only one hour in this city the Kansai extremists has already shown me that they hold the city in their grip. Five years Konoe, you have had five years and you haven't even gotten rid of that maniac Chigusa. She and her allies have obtained enough resources to hire the best mercenaries in Japan and already have tried everything short of an all out assault." Now Negi was leaning over the desk. "I'll be blunt. Explain! Now!"

Eishun sighed and closed his eyes, when he spoke it was with a soft voice, "I understand that you are angry, you have every right to be. But before you came here the extremists were little more than a group of miscreants whose activities were, even if bothersome, not severe enough to warrant action against them. I had my suspicions that they were planning something but I let them be because didn't want to provoke them. I've seen enough war. Then the moment Konoka entered Kyoto they became crazy. Their actions are unforgivable; they have acted in the open without any regard to the mundane people around them and I have planned to take action, in this moment there are messengers heading for the God's Cry School asking for support from their warriors for an attack on the extremists. I have gathered several of the best mages in the area and ensured their aid in this mission. I will not let them get away with this. Is that enough to placate you?"

"Yes, but I have three demands." Negi said.

"Which are?"

"One: when this is over you will allow Konoka-san to visit her home as often as she see fit. Do you know how happy she was when we decided to go to Kyoto? She was ecstatic, over a chance to go home. You think that distance protects her but you are wrong in that. She needs her family and you are the only family she has. I don't care how justified you think her exile was but it will end the moment the extremists are gone.

Two: you will no longer forbid her magic talent to be developed; do you know what happened in cinema village? A magic storm! She could have razed the entire area due to you bottling up her magic like that. Do you realize how close you were to being responsible for god knows how many deaths, you irresponsible fool?

"Three: When you strike at them, I'll be there too. I'm not letting them get away with this and to be blunt, I don't trust you on this. If you are to destroy them, I'll be there too. Those are my demands."

"I accept…" Eishun said, "And I never forbid her talent to be developed. I just wanted to give her a chance to live as a normal girl."

"She has never been a normal girl and she never will be." Negi said harshly, "She is the inheritor to power beyond even my father's. That talent can't, mustn't, be ignored. She should have been taught the moment she was old enough to understand. Instead you have not even told her of the existence of the supernatural, if we would have lost that gift because of your stupidity we would have lost something irreplaceable. She's already stymied enough as it is and that will end now." Negi turned to walk out of the room, "Inform me when the strike team is assembled. Until then, I have nothing more to say." He said before exiting. Eishun sat still and looked at the door.

"_Is this what your son has become Nagi?" _He thought sadly, only seventeen and already that cold. He felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. Someone his age was supposed to be carefree and happy, not carry such a weight on his shoulder.

* * *

"I wonder what Negi wanted to talk with Konoka's father about." Asuna said as she stepped into the warm water. The girls had chosen to take a bath to wash off the sweat today had caused. Asuna had been drenched in sweat after having been forced to fight a swarm of giant spiders and Setsuna wasn't much better off. The bathhouse of the temple had come as a blessing to them.

"I wonder too," Setsuna said, "He seemed pretty angry."

"I can kind of understand why though," Asuna said, "He told me all about how you saved Konoka at Cinema village. Like a knight rushing to the defense of his lady."

"What do you mean Kagurazaka-san?" Setsuna said.

"Oh come on… Call me Asuna." Asuna said to the other girl. "I can't stand that formality."

"Okay… Asuna…" Setsuna said, "And what did you mean?"

"Oh it just seems like you're "more" than just a bodyguard."

"Wh-wh-what!" Setsuna stared at her, "I-I-I would never… That's not…"

"Sure, sure."

"Well what about you?" Setsuna retorted, "You seem to be pretty "close" with Negi-sensei. Didn't you have a contract with him? That means you've kissed, right?"

"That's not how it is!" Asuna was beet red, "He just can't take care of everything himself!"

"Sure, sure. Asuna…" Setsuna smirked, enjoying having the upper hand, "The son of the thousand master; a boy with more skill and experience than most adults, needs help."

"It's not that! He's…" Asuna halted, she had been about to reveal Negi's secret. "Look it's nothing like that, okay?"

"The same goes for me and ojou-sama." Setsuna said, right then Konoka entered the bath.

"Hello Se-chan, hello Asuna." She said as she got into the water, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." They said together.

* * *

They stayed in the temple when evening fell. It was best to keep Konoka where she couldn't be harmed. Negi had stubbornly refused to discuss what he and Eishun had been discussing claiming that it was a matter between him and Konoka's father. The latter had soon come to fetch Konoka and they had spent the rest of the evening together. Negi had then taken Asuna into the courtyard.

"Now Asuna-san," He said, "You really did a great job today; I'm going to show you a trick that you'll have good use for. From what I've seen you should be a natural at it. Empty your mind when I send you the magic."

"Why?" Asuna wondered what was going on.

"Just do it. I'll tell you why later. Imagine that in your left hand you hold the world, and in the right you hold yourself, then you bring them together."

"Okay, Asuna cleared her head as Negi activated the card. She suddenly felt a rush of power. It was unlike the usual feeling, she couldn't describe it but it felt good. Negi suddenly dashed at her and kicked against her head. She leaped out of the way, instinctively summoned her artifact and swung at him. Negi moved like lightning but she was perfectly able to both follow every single move he made and keep up with him. The fight continued for half a minute when Negi suddenly stopped.

"That's enough Asuna-san." He said, not even sweaty. Asuna realized that she wasn't either. "You did better than I thought, with a little practice you'll go far."

"What was that?"

"It's called Kanka. It's the art of mixing ki and magic, if you master it you'll have great physical power at your disposal. Strength, speed, endurance, perception, reflexes; everything is enhanced to epic levels. But don't get arrogant; you'll have a long way to go before you can use it well. Do you feel the energy?"

"Eh…" Asuna didn't feel a thing, "No."

"That's because the kanka creation will consume all the energy I'm sending you in an instant. The contract was to be active in ten minutes" he held up the card, "but you swallowed all of it in twenty-five seconds. You'll have to practice a lot if you want to make good use of it."

It was then that a servant came out and whispered something to Negi. He sighed and told her to unsummon the artifact.

"Apparently Eishun want me to see him about something." He was about to enter the building the he saw Setsuna, "Heh, good timing Setsuna-san." He said to her, "Asuna-san." He turned around, "I talked with Setsuna earlier and she agreed to help with your training. Feel like accepting? The samurai of the Shinmei-ryu are considered Japan's finest swordsmen."

"Sure." Asuna wasn't going to refuse that kind of offer.

* * *

After a while Negi came out again. His face was set in stone in a way that unsettled Asuna.

"The council didn't want to act against the extremists without proof," he told her, "They want me to infiltrate their headquarters and see if I can find any incriminating evidence against them. I'm leaving within the hour. Keep an eye out Asuna-san; there might be something tonight. If they try anything contact me through the card. Hold it towards your forehead and think your message to me." With that he had left.

Asuna looked after him. She was unsettled by his impassive, cool attitude. When he was like that he really was all business. She remembered how he had told her that he had been forced to leave home at the age of ten chased by demons. It had never occurred to her how that must have affected him. He was in many ways like an adult; most of the seventeen-year-old guys she had met were almost children. He was more like Takahata-sensei in that way. She gulped as she remembered the dream she had had a few days earlier; she had been about to confess to Takahata-sensei when he suddenly had transformed into Negi.

She shook her head, this was ridiculous, Negi was a nice guy but she loved Takahata-sensei, not him. She pushed the thoughts aside and continued the training.

* * *

Later that evening Asuna was walking through the temple; she had taken a second bath to get rid of the sweat from the training. Setsuna had told her she was a natural but Asuna didn't feel like one, she was sore all over. The Shinmei-ryu warrior hadn't held back in her attacks and she was sure that she would have had a busload of bruises tomorrow if it hadn't been for the healer. As it were she was heading to see Konoka. Her friend had wanted to talk with them about something. When she rounded the corner she froze. In front of her stood Konoka's father. Half of him had been turned to stone and his breathing was labored.

"I-I'm so sorry, "He wheezed, "I overestimated the power of the temple barriers. Th-they attacked us." Eishun wheezed.

"Hey, you." The sight shocked Asuna; his flesh was turning to stone in front of her eyes, "Hang on there, we will help you." She said frantically.

"You… have to call Negi back here, the white-haired kid who did this… He's beyond normal wizards, he has… too much power for it to be… natural; Negi is… the only one who'll have any chance. Please… take care of Konoka for me." Then he was completely turned to stone.

Asuna stared at the statue for a few seconds before she dashed off towards Konoka's room. She took out the card and held it towards her forehead.

"_Negi!" _She thought.

"_Asuna-san? What's happening?" _Negi's voice echoed in her head.

"_They attacked the temple! Konoka's dad has been turned to stone! They are trying to kidnap her!"_

"_Damn it!" _Negi's anger could be clearly heard. _"Look, don't seek out the intruder, if it is who I think it is he's far too skilled for you, find out which of the temple inhabitants that hasn't been turned to stone and get them out of there. Then try to follow the intruder but keep your distance! I'll home in on your card and head for your location as fast as I can!"_

"_Okay." _Asuna rounded a corner and almost collided with Setsuna.

"Asuna-san!" Setsuna said, "You're all right! The enemy is here! We must find Konoka-ojou-sama!" They then heard a scream from the bathroom and dashed inside. There they saw a sight that made their hearts freeze. A giant demon, Setsuna recognized it as the one from cinema village, was holding the limp form of Konoka in its hands. They both charged, Asuna activating her artifact, but before they could reach the creature someone appeared behind them. They had only managed to spin around before they were struck with a powerful punch each that sent them both flying as the demon took flight out of the window.

The one who had hit them was a boy, seemingly in his mid-teens, with white hair and cold eyes. "Disappointing." He said calmly, "I would have expected more from the ministra of Negi Springfield. It would seem he made a lapse in judgment when replacing the hanyō."

"I'm a mistake huh?" Asuna gritted her teeth and activated her contract as she emptied her mind like Negi had shown her. "Try me, you brat!" She didn't know what he was talking about but his attitude pissed her off and charged at him with full speed striking at him. The boy swiftly dodged her attack and leapt out of range.

"Better, but you are still not up to protecting the princess, go to sleep will you?" He made a gesture and a white cloud of smoke burst forth at her feet. She instinctively leapt away from it and saw that her sandals had been turned to stone.

"What the heck?" She stared at the sandals before looking at the boy who seems just as confounded.

"Curious, how did you resist my petrification spell?" The intense and cold eyes of the boy drilled into her. He looked at her as if she was some kind of freak… something that shouldn't be possible.

"You'd like to know wouldn't you?" Asuna leapt at the boy again who summoned a swarm of tentacles from the water. They dashed at her and Asuna got a horrible image in her head about what those things were going to do to her. She stopped and went into the defensive stance she had learned and swung furiously at the tentacles. She managed to hold them off for a while but they were too many. They slithered around her and lifted her into the air as they began to tickle her. She started to laugh desperately.

"You really seem to be insistent in not being affected as you should." The boy continued to gaze at her, "Never mind, are you going to tell me how you do it?" he snapped his fingers and the tentacles stopped the tickling.

"Screw you!" Asuna yelled.

"No? Then laugh until you die; your choice." He snapped his fingers again and the tentacles continued to tickle her but then Setsuna came from nowhere and attacked the mage.

"Raimeiken!" She unleashed a powerful thunderclap from her sword that scored a glancing hit on the boy whose spell was interrupted. The boy then suddenly grabbed Setsuna mid-air and threw her effortlessly into the water,all the time not even looking at her.

"Boring…" He said, "I'll take the princess and leave now if you don't mind."

"Hey, w-wait!" Asuna came up from the floor, still shaking from the violent tickling, "I…I won't let you do that!"

"Then what are you going to do?" The boy asked, "I don't see why Negi Springfield choose you to be his ministra; you are nowhere near neither his nor my level as it is." With that, the boy sunk into a pool of water and vanished.

"Damn it!" Setsuna crawled out of the water. "We'll have to follow them."

"Yeah but how? I don't know how to dive into a puddle!"

"I can track Ki, let's go!" They darted out of the window and rushed into the forest. Asuna took out the card,

"_Where are you?! They got Konoka!"_

"_I'm on my way! Who else survived?!"_

"_Only Setsuna! We're following the white haired kid now!"_

"_Good. I've called for some backup. They should be there soon."_

The two girls caught up with the white-haired mage at a small waterfall where he was talking to Chigusa who was loudly praising his skill. When they burst out into the water Chigusa looked at them with an annoyed expression.

"That's far enough Chigusa Amagasaki!" Setsuna yelled, "Surrender! By dawn others will have come to capture you, stop your useless resistance and give up!"

"So what?" The talisman user asked, "It won't matter how many you bring. Let me instead share with you some of Konoka-ojou-sama's power." She put a talisman on Konoka and chanted. Suddenly a swarm of glowing symbols appeared on the ground. Asuna recognized them from the time Negi had summoned demons to spar with her. But there were so many of them!

Then the entire area exploded with light and when it cleared they were surrounded by demons. There had to be at least a hundred of them! Asuna recognized a pair of them. She suddenly realized that she was trembling. This was far more than she could handle she thought as she saw Chigusa, the white-haired boy and his pet demon flying away carrying Konoka with them.

"Wh-what the…" She said, "Is this even happening?!"

"They are using Konoka-ojou-sama's power to draw on whatever is available." Setsuna said grimly. "Don't worry, they may look tough but they aren't that dangerous. Just think of them as a hundred sword-wielding punks."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Asuna said sweatdropping.

"Hey what's this?" One of the demons said, Asuna recognized the ogre that had led the demons Negi had summoned, "Now I have to fight my master's boss' girl? Sorry sweetie, a summon is a summon, can't go easy on you." The demons spread out around them. Asuna gritted her teeth; she had done this before… she could do it!

"Let's go!"

* * *

A/N: Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Eleven reviews. Keep it up and you make me very happy.

Nah… seriously though, I think there was a slight misunderstanding, I wasn't complaining that people didn't praise me for writing, I was only wondering why so few people chose to comment and give their opinions. I'm not trying to beg for reviews. Let's just put this matter aside for now though.

I want to give the anonymous reviewer who went by the name of "A Reviewer" my thanks for his thoughts on the whole thing. His review was very enlightening and well written. Let me at once say to him that I am aware that Negima is a low-traffic part of FF and that I don't expect everyone to cheer during every chapter. Nor will I modify the story to get more reviews; I'm not a "review-whore" (at least not yet)

Furthermore. About chapter length. I'm sorry, I wish I could do more but I'm simply not capable, I've always written very concisely and since most of the story already is written any attempts to lengthen them would just sound forced. I can however promise you all, that after the Kyoto arc is done there will be an almost completely original plot. Even if the events will still be at Mahora there will be loads of new material and the taint will play an even greater part.


	28. Wrath of the Four Heavenly Dragons

**Chapter: 27: Wrath of the Four Heavenly Dragons**

* * *

Asuna was leaping around, furiously dodging the demons' attacks. She had managed to banish several of them with her artifact but it seemed that for every demon she defeated another three took its place. There was just too many of them. One demon hit her with its giant cleaver and sent her flying. Negi's magic protected her from harm but it still hurt. She saw that Setsuna had problems with her opponents too. Eventually, they ended up with their backs against each other and the demons closing in on all sides. Then suddenly a swarm of figures appeared all around them. 

The demons were struck by several powerful attacks that sent them flying in all directions. All the figures except for one faded away and Asuna saw who it was. It was that it was Kaede from the class! She was wearing some kind of ninja uniform and held several daggers in her hands. Then a few demons closed in again but were hit by bullets and vanished. She looked back and saw Mana and Ku Fei too.

"It's not like you to have such a hard time Setsuna." Mana said calmly as she reloaded her gun, "I'll put this on your tab."

"Wh-wh-what the…" Asuna stared around her; this was the backup? Had Negi gone insane?

"You did well Asuna-san." Kaede said, "We'll hold these guys off, you go and save Konoka-san."

"Hey wait, I can't just leave…" Kaede pushed her.

"Don't worry," She smiled, "This is no time for thinking; it is time for fighting. Go!"

"Let's go Asuna-san!" Setsuna said, "They will be able to handle things here. I have worked with Mana before and the others are good too."

"…Okay!" Setsuna and Asuna dashed forward towards the direction Chigusa had disappeared in. Mana's bullets and a large fuuma shuriken thrown by Kaede stopped the demons that tried to pursue them. As they ran towards Chigusa's location Setsuna spoke up.

"I'm impressed by you Asuna-san. You are much better than I expected."

"You're not half bad either." Asuna said, "We make a good team. When we're done here you'll have to teach me some more of your tricks."

"I'll do my best, but I'm still in training myself."

"So that means that I ain't getting' any good fight outta you?" A male voice asked from the trees. The question was followed by a swarm of black wolves that came flying at them. The two girls barely dodged the animals the crashed into the ground and vaporized. They looked up. There on a branch stood Kotaro. He was grinning predatorily and crouched together.

"Sorry but you ain't getting' past me." He said, "An' now you ain't got Negi t' cover for you."

"Out of our way!" Setsuna charged at him and cut through the branch he was sitting on. Kotaro leapt away and landed a few meters from Setsuna.

"Damn, Negi's harem really got some spunk in 'em" He grinned. "This might be fun after all!" He launched himself at Setsuna and swung his claws at her. Setsuna countered with her sword and the two met in the air. Asuna was certain that Kotaro would lose his hands but saw that they were enveloped in black fire and seemed to be just as hard as the steel in Setsuna's sword.

"Go and save Ojou-sama!" Setsuna yelled as Kotaro pushed her away, "I'll hold this guy here! They are at the shrine by the lake! Hurry!"

* * *

As Asuna dashed off Kotaro looked after her. 

"Aren't we th' brave little samurai," He said, "Holding th' enemy off like that; it's so cute!" He charged at Setsuna and unleashed a flurry of claw swipes at her. Setsuna dodged furiously and tried to gain distance but the hanyō was too quick for her. She eventually managed to leap out of his range and held up her sword. Kotaro suddenly grinned again.

"Just one thing sweetie," He said, "D'ya always fight "wet t-shirt" style?" Setsuna looked down and saw that the water from the pool had drenched her clothes that now clung to her body. She gasped and turned beet red when she saw that the cool night air had made some parts of her clearly noticeable. "Not that I don't appreciate th' show though. Real nice in fact." Kotaro continued what the impudent grin still on his face.

"Shut up!" Setsuna's embarrassment turned into anger and she charged at full speed. The hanyō dodged her sword but still got a shallow cut across his left eye.

* * *

Kotaro rolled out of the way and felt the blood run down his face. For a moment he was shocked. "You cut my face…" Then the astonishment turned to wild joy. "You cut my face! Goddamn this is awesome! Ain't no one that's done that before! Killing you will be th' best thing ever!" He leapt at her with the joy of battle singing in him. The pain from the wound only further increased the sensation. First Negi and now this girl! This had been the greatest time he had had since he had gotten out of Aokigahara!

* * *

The hanyō only became more violent after she hit him. This guy wasn't human at all. Setsuna felt the disgust well up inside her. This guy… this creature lived for blood. It didn't matter if it was his or others. He was a monster. The kind of creatures the Shinmei-ryu was meant to put an end to. She met his attacks and struck at him with everything she had. 

"Awesome!" the half-inugami yelled again, "This is so damn great! Where have you been all my life, eh?!"

"Shut up you monster!" Setsuna yelled as she forced him to leap out of range, "Your filthy existence ends right here!"

"Monster huh?" Kotaro lost his smile, "So your one of them ain't you? Very well girlie" He hunched down, "You wanna see a monster? Then look closely…" Then he started to change. It was as if something under his skin tried to get out. His skin suddenly tore with a sickening ripping sound and Kotaro rose again.

"Here's your monster girlie." Setsuna backed a step when she saw what he had become. "The big bad wolf's comin' for you…"

* * *

Asuna ran out on the bridge towards the altar in the middle of the lake. The lights that were swirling around the lake made her nervous. What were they planning? She then saw the demon that had captured Konoka. It was flying towards her with high speed and roared as it descended on her. Asuna didn't even think as she leapt towards it and struck it down, the harisen banishing it in an instant. When she landed again the white-haired boy stood in front of her. 

"Still trying to fight the inevitable?" He said as he swung his fist at her. She barely dodged and countered with the harisen; she was too slow though and the boy sent her flying with another punch. When she got up again the ground was shaking. Around the altar in the middle of the lake six titanic demons had begun to rise. They were huge, they had to be at least two hundred meters tall, seemingly made out of crystal and with four arms each. Asuna only stared at the creatures; they were big… too big. She took out the card.

_"Where are you Negi? She has dug out a bunch of giants now!"_

_"What?! Oh shit! They summoned the Sukuna ogres! Last time it took the entire elder council and my father to seal them away! Goddamn it… I'm flying as fast as I can!"_

_"Hurry!"_ Asuna saw the white-haired mage approach again.

"Asking your mage for advice?" he asked, "The only thing that will help you now is giving up. You are too inferior to me to accomplish anything."

Asuna became fed up by his arrogance at that point; she leapt into the air and brought down the harisen at him. He leapt out of the way when a giant sword crashed into the bridge. Asuna stared at her artifact; it had become a giant blade that made Setsuna's sword look like a letter opener. She followed up her attack and swung at him again. Despite the size of the blade it was light as a feather in her hands. When the boy suddenly caught the blade between his hands she let go of the blade and punched at his face with everything she had. To her amazement she hit but the fist stopped only an inch from his head, blocked by his hand.

"That could have been dangerous if you had been stronger," The boy said, still calm as ever, "though it ends now." He swung at her when suddenly the ground between them exploded as a lightning bolt struck it. Asuna fell backwards from the sudden explosion and when she looked up again she saw Negi. The red-headed mage had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and now held the silver-haired boy's hand in an iron grip. The latter had turned to look at Negi, his eyes slightly widened.

"Fate Averruncus…" Negi said coolly, "I'm surprised to see you here, surprised and disappointed."

"Negi Springfield," The white-haired mage, Fate, was just as impassive as before, "I'm impressed by your speed. The extremist base is nearly twenty miles away."

"You can admire my speed…" Negi begun to crackle with magic. "…In the afterlife!" He swung his fist with incredible speed against Fate and hit him in the chest. Fate's body exploded in a cascade of water and Negi looked around.

"Stay back Asuna, this guy is beyond your level." He said before punching straight downwards, making the bridge shatter from the impact. Fate reappeared behind him stumbling but still chanting with incredible speed

"Vish Tal Li Shutal Vangate. Little King, Eight Legged Lizard, Master of the Evil Eye. Let your Light Shine from my Hand, Release the fire of Catastrophe, Evil Eye of Petrification." The spell made a bright lance of energy shoot out from his fingers towards Negi but just before it hit Negi sidestepped and the ray hit and bounced off one of the ogres, who now were halfway out of the lake. Negi used the momentum from the dodge to send a swift roundhouse kick towards Fate who was unable to dodge in time.

The impact created a loud "crack" as Fate twisted and fell to the ground landing on his back. He jumped to his feet immediately however and threw a haymaker at Negi who grabbed his opponent's arm, pulled him past him and spun around sending an elbow strike towards Fate's neck. Yet again Fate turned into water as Negi's strike dug deep into his body. However this time Negi's hand shot into the water and he pulled Fate out of it and clenched his fist before striking him with a mighty punch that seemed to Asuna to be accompanied by a giant beam of energy. Fate was sent flying across the water and disappeared into the seething lake.

"About time you got here!" Asuna said as Negi turned to her, "Where have you been?"

"On the other side of Kyoto." Negi looked at the scene. The ogres were almost fully out of the water now and perched on one of the ogres' shoulder was Chigusa who held Konoka in her arms. "Now listen, I'm going to give you one final boost of magic, you'll have to catch Konoka when she falls and when you've gotten her you have to run as fast as you can. Got it? If those ogres get out all the way we are in trouble. Chamo will help you." The Ermine jumped off Negi's shoulder and onto Asuna's. "And when I say run I mean run." He lifted his hands and unleashed a swarm of missiles towards Chigusa.

"Let's go big sis!" Chamo yelled and Asuna dashed towards the ogres. The missiles struck against Chigusa who had summoned a swarm of demons to protect her, she escaped unharmed but then a powerful gust of wind sent by Negi knocked her off the shoulder and both she and Konoka fell. Asuna managed to catch Konoka, before her friend reached the ground, with a mighty jump and ran towards Negi again. There she saw the mage hovering in the air chanting, a black staff was hovering horizontally in front of him and around him four orbs of magic energy was floating. One seemed to be made of swirling clouds, the second out of dancing lightning, the third out of roaring fire and the fourth out of pure light.

"Run big sis!" Chamo was in panic, "He's going to use his dragon magic!"

"What is that?" Asuna asked as she dashed towards the forest.

"Big bro's artifact gives him access to some of the most powerful spells that exist! He's going to unleash one of them now! The "Wrath of the Four Heavenly Dragons." It's the magic equivalent of an atomic bomb! The entire area he'll target will be annihilated!"

* * *

The gargantuan amounts of energy coursed through Negi, invoking these spells were like a drug-trip, every single one of his cells was on fire with energy. 

"Hear my plea great Wyrms of the immaterial!" He chanted the last verse of the spell, "Bring the true wrath of existence to my foes and annihilate them with your endless power! Wrath of the four heavenly dragons!"

The energy streamed through him and the orbs around his shattered as the energies inside them burst forth, reminiscent of how a lizard hatched from his egg, taking the shapes of four titanic dragons; one of them, a serpentine being made out of light, dashed forwards and began to encircle the ogres, leaving a trail of light behind it as it defined the area of impact. Then the other three suddenly flew straight at the encircled area.

The explosion that came when they hit shook the ground and Asuna, who had gotten nearly a kilometer away, was thrown to her knees by the shockwave. Negi still hovered in mid-air with his arms reaching out towards the area of impact. The light-dragon was now flying around a massive pillar of pulsating clouds, fire and thunder, that seemed to reach heaven itself; it's long snake-like body seemed to be endless as it coiled around it. Then a beam of light from the sky tore through the clouds and another, even more powerful explosion shook the ground.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity the pillar retreated into heaven followed by the four dragons and an almost deafening roar came from the lake as the water rushed in to fill the area where it had been vaporized by the spell.

* * *

Kotaro was holding Setsuna by her throat towards a tree. Setsuna fought desperately to escape the grip but the hanyō was too strong. She looked into his yellow eyes and felt, for the first time in years, fear. Not fear for Konoka's safety but simple fear. The fear of the gazelle as the lion chases it. Pure, undiluted, terror. She would never admit it but the boy that held her throat terrified her. How could anyone be so powerful? He was like a monster out of the legends. 

She realized that she had only one option left; one last card that was her only hope of survival. She had to call upon the cursed powers she had sworn to never use. The ones that rested in her blood. There was no other way. But then a deafening explosion shook the area and the ground started to tremble. Kotaro looked at the lake and saw the giant pillar of energy. He suddenly dropped Setsuna and she fell to the ground gasping for air.

"Seems like Negi won again…" He said with a smirk as he looked on the pillar of magic, "Heh… Well, I'm done 'ere, th' ape-bitch's gotta be dead and I ain't got no one t' pay me. Say hi t' Negi from me." He reverted to his human form and turned around to walk away. Setsuna felt the humiliation burn in her.

"Stop… we're not… done yet…" She pressed forth as she rose unsteadily to her feet. Kotaro looked back at her.

"What's with you samurai guys an' fights?" He sighed, "An' people call me bloodthirsty… go get your friends instead, I ain't gonna fight you no more." With that he disappeared. Setsuna gritted her teeth and started to limp away towards the lake.

* * *

Negi came down to the ground panting heavily. When Asuna came to his side he took a deep breath. 

"I hate using that spell." He said tiredly, "Even with my magical powers it's too damn draining. That spell is the kind of stuff that would kill most normal wizards. I almost had to use the taint."

"But it was pretty cool." Asuna said, that display of power had hade her see him in a completely new light. She now understood why Konoka's dad had said that they needed to get Negi. This guy, her teacher, really was one of the most powerful people on the planet. And he hadn't even used the taint! It was then that she saw the white-haired boy rising out of a puddle on the ground. "Negi watch out!" She dashed forward and came in between them. Negi pushed her out of the way though.

"Move you fool, what do you…?" His speech was interrupted when the boy created a giant spike of stone from the ground that pierced his chest. Asuna stared in horror at him; no… no it couldn't be!

Then, suddenly and without warning, Negi's body transformed, it turned into a black oily cloud that flew in behind the other mage and transformed into Negi again. Negi spun around with his arm out in a chopping motion and cut the boy in half. The white haired mage transformed into water when his body was destroyed.

"So that's what happened in Berlin…" The boy said, "It seems like I'll have to give up on defeating you." then the water fell apart completely. Asuna was now lying on the ground staring at her teacher. Negi was staring at his hands with a look of horror on his face. It was then that they heard Setsuna.

"Negi-sensei! Asuna-san! Are you all right?"

"Not one word," Negi said quietly as he helped Asuna get up. They reached the place where Konoka was lying, she was still unconscious, and Negi saw how Setsuna looked. She was covered from head to toe with claw-marks. Her clothes were torn and she walked with a limp. She looked as if she had been tossed into a lion cage.

"My god, what has happened to you?" He asked.

"One of the mercenaries." Setsuna said, "I underestimated him."

"It was Kotaro." Asuna added as she checked on Konoka.

Negi nodded and picked up Konoka. "Let's get back to the temple; we'll have to cure the petrification spells as soon as possible."

* * *

They returned to the temple by midnight and found that most of the victims of Fate's spells had already been cured. Some of the older mages had been away when he struck and only returned when they noticed the fighting. Setsuna was immediately sent to one of the healers and Konoka was put in bed. She had been placed in a deep coma and would not awake until the next day. 

Negi was now sitting in a borrowed yukata outside the main building looking at the trees; the events of last night clear in his mind. He had instinctively managed to do something he had never read anything about. The taint had acted on its own accord and moved without him doing anything. This made him wonder. Was he really in control? It didn't make sense; the taint was a cancer that sought to corrupt everything, to turn normal people into murderous maniacs. It didn't act to protect its host. It didn't act at all for Merlin's sake! It was the stuff of evil, nothing more. But why had it done that? He then perceived something in the trees and looked in its direction. There he saw Kotaro sitting on a branch. His friend sat with one leg dangling off the branch and was staring at him intently.

"You are good," He said, "They didn't even detect you entering."

"But you did, suppose that means you're good too." His old friend answered, "What did you want with me?"

"Many things, but most of all I want to know what happened after you ran off to lure the demons away in Aokigahara."

"Ain't much t' say actually," The hanyō shrugged, "Th' seal broke an' I became a real inugami for a while. When my head cleared again th' demons' guts were paintin' th' trees. I tried t' follow you but you kept that spell active an' I lost track of you. Then I spent three years in there an' managed t' get out when a group of God's Cry samurai that had gone there t' find some rare herb found me. Th' funny thing is that th' leader of 'em was that woman Tsuruko who kicked our asses that time."

"Really?" Negi asked, "She didn't tell me anything of that when I met her a few weeks ago."

"Didn't want her to." Kotaro got something hard in his eyes, "I ain't who you think I am Negi, I'm more Inugami than man now an' I ain't gonna apologize. I live t' fight an' kill. I ain't expectin' th' guy who, after over a year as a merc, still lived in th' world where people didn't die t' understand. You shoulda let me remain in th' past. Now you'll remember me as the monster you think I've become."

Negi smiled slightly at his words. He leapt up into the tree and summoned a small amount of taint. Kotaro's sensitive nose picked up the smell immediately and he started to sneeze violently, like a dog trying to get a foul smell out of his nostrils.

"What th' hell?!" he stared at Negi, "You ain't tryin' t' tell me that you…"

"I'm in no position to judge anyone Kotaro." Negi said grimly as he effortlessly balanced on the branch, the sun rising behind him and throwing his shadow at his friend who was standing with his back against the tree, "If you are a monster, then what am I? A man? A monster?" He smiled sadly, "A demon most likely. This filth infected me after I had left Aokigahara and I have had to fight it ever since. I know everything there is to know about evil; I have more of it in me than any of the beings in that forest."

Kotaro stared at him, the revelation had shaken him and he seemed about to bolt.

"So what do you say?" Negi continued, "I can't judge you, even if I could I wouldn't. And I'm guessing that you're not interested in judging anyone either. Any attempts on judgment from either of us would be hypocritical. Let's forget about that and continue as we were before the forest."

"Hey Negi!" Asuna's voice came drifting, "Where are you?" Negi saw her entering the garden.

"Seems like we'll have to finish this later," Negi said, "If you're interested, meet me at Norihisa's place this afternoon. Bring the other two mercenaries if you find them."

"Deal." Kotaro vanished as he moved too quickly for the eye to see towards the temple walls. Negi came down from the trees and walked out to meet Asuna.

"There you are," She said, "Eishun wanted to see you. Apparently he's planning something and wants you to be there."

"Okay." They both walked into the building.

* * *

The main room was filled with mages who sat and discussed the events of the night. Eishun sat on a platform near the stairs and the other mages sat in two rows down from him. Negi was given a place by Eishun's side and when he had sat down Konoka's father spoke up. 

"Now you may tell him Danjuro-san"

"Springfield-san," An old mage said, "Although we are grateful for your assistance during the events of last night your use of the dragon magic is an intolerable action. You have completely wiped out the altar and it will take weeks to rebuild it. The Sukuna are now free to roam this world as they see fit. We have called you here to let you know that you will be punished for it."

"My assistance?" Negi said softly, "You didn't do anything if I remember correctly; me and my students did everything without even as much as a lick of assistance from you. One mage and a group of adolescent girls stopped the Kansai extremists from taking over while the entire Kansai magic association sat on their hands. Your reluctance to act allowed them to grow so strong that they could challenge you, your cowardice allowed them to hold this city in their hands and your, frankly, incompetence allowed the extremists to attack the temple. And I stopped them in a few days to ensure the safety of my student. Now you are going to punish me for it just so you can desperately try to maintain some thin façade of competence? Allow me to put it this way," He looked at the council members,

"Make one move against me and you'll wish that the extremists still had control of the ogres." The air dropped to the freezing point, "I'm not going to let you judge me here, you did nothing; I did everything and if I had to destroy an altar to do that then so be it. I doubt that calling to a meeting, which seems to be the only thing you are capable of, would have helped. Besides, if you would have even the most basic knowledge of spirits you would know that a spell of that level would be guaranteed to make them dormant for a year at least, so you'll have time to rebuild. If you are going to come up with fake reasons to punish me for stopping a group of fanatics from threatening all of Japan, you should do a better job, which I doubt you are capable of. And, of course, there is also the fact that you have no legal right to judge me."

"How dare you!" the old man said, his face was white from anger, "You are a guest in Kyoto and you will obey our laws!"

Negi held up his hand and lit up the mark, "No I won't; due to my authority as the Hand of the Welsh Magus you have no right whatsoever to pass judgment on me. Send a letter of complaint to Wales if you wish but that is the only legal action you can take towards me." He got up, "Now, I have a class to look after and no time for these pathetic power games." With that he left noticing in the corner of his eye how Eishun smiled.

* * *

Later, when the meeting was over and they were about to leave, Eishun asked Negi for a chance to talk with him. They went to the garden and walked under the cherry trees. 

"I want to thank you Negi-kun." Eishun said, "Danjuro-san has been a pain for a long time. He was actually the reason why we never took any action against the extremists. He's not one of them but his sympathies lie with them to a large degree. Your speech made him lose face and a large part of his authority has now vanished."

"Just don't allow him to regain that power." Negi said.

"I can't stop him. I would have to deny him the right to speak in order to do that. But it will take time before he has regained that face and that will give us time to breathe."

"Eishun-san." Negi said slowly, "How long will it take before you realize that you aren't a samurai anymore? You are a ruler. Stop blindly following bushido and start to apply some realism. You can't solve these battles with honor and willpower. You have to start using other means too if you are interested in keeping the peace."

"So I should start employing the same methods as my opponents?" Eishun looked at his friend's son "If I'd do that there would be no difference between me and them in the end. That is what separates me from them. I believe in finding honorable solutions."

Negi chuckled, "Spoken like a true samurai. But you are wrong; there is one important difference, your goals."

"You mean that the ends justify the means?"

"Yes." Negi returned the gaze. "Sometimes they actually do that. What is this peace worth to you? If your honor means more you should reconsider your position. To be a ruler is to give everything for your people, if that means you have to become a villain, so be it."

Negi then looked at his watch, "Sorry but I have to go now; we must get back to the hotel as soon as possible." Negi bowed slightly to Eishun who returned the bow. As Negi was walking away he felt Eishun's gaze on his neck. He looked back at him.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," Eishun said, "I'm just amazed by how different you are from your father."

"That's because you expect a copy of him. People never see me; they see my father. I don't want to be "the son of the Thousand Master"; I want to be "Negi"." With that, he left.

* * *

A/N: And that puts an end to the battle against the extremists of Kyoto... This chapter was the last part I wrote before I started to put this story on FF. It's really amazing how the story has changed from my first idea. In the beginning this was a much more straightforward action story with flashy fighting scenes and more humour. I originally planned to have Fate too team up with Kotaro and Negi, forming a group where Fate and Kotaro would be the ones always bickering and Negi the peacekeeper. But the story changed in my hands and became this. 

Now, there were a couple of matters I wanted to adress before I wrap this all up. One of the readers asked whether the taint was based on the "Cursed Seal" of Naruto. I can see where that came from but no. The taint and the cursed seal is in no way connected, inspiration for the taint... heck, we can say the very idea, came from "Legend of the Five Rings", a CCG/RPG set in a fantasy world reminiscent of Japan.

The second is whether Nodoka will become Negi's partner. No she won't, at this part the girls will start to have less and less screentime so if you want more of 3-A you'll have to look somewhere else.

The other matter was how Negi can summon a demon. In the chapter where Negi tells his story Hermann offers his contract card to Negi, essentially becoming his servant. And since Hermann is, as he say himself, "a Demon Lord of the Second Circle" he has a swarm of demons under his command. This man (demon) is only one step below the overlords on the ladder of power. I didn't like how easily he went down in the manga. To me, there will always be things humanity doesn't stand a chance against and therefore I boosted him to become a REAL demon. As it is now he is easily on Fate's and Evangeline's level, perhaps even more. And if anyone can figure what his real(demonic) name is I will dedicate an omake to that person. The only clues is that he's been mentioned in litterature (real litterature) before, that he was a leader even then, and that it isn't Satan.

PM me if you want to take a stab at who Hermann really is, don't write in in the reviews, that will spoil it.

And also, don't ask why I made the sukuna have five brothers... it just became like that


	29. Descent into the abyss

**Chapter 28: Descent into the abyss**

* * *

When they had returned to the hotel they had all crashed into bed except for Konoka, who had stayed at the temple, the official story was that she needed to spend time with her father, and Negi, who stayed awake with the aid of spells and strong coffee. The other groups had wondered where they had been and when Negi had told them some convincing lies about visiting Konoka's home they demanded time with him too. Negi eventually had to let them draw straws. Group two won and that noon he walked with them through the shopping districts. Negi didn't pay too much attention to things since he was exhausted but the girls were doing fine on etheir own. Ku Fei grabbed himi when the other girls were watching a group of street-dancers and whispered. 

"Thanks for last night Negi-sensei; I had time of my life." Kaede's sharp hearing picked up the whisper however and she winked at them. Negi grimaced when he realized how that had sounded. Chamo snickered as he reached the same conclusion. And the irritating thing was that Ku Fei didn't realize it at all.

Later as they sat on a restaurant eating lunch Misora leaned in, "If it's okay with you, can I ask you a… "special" question later?" "Special" was the word Misora used for magic, Negi nodded and when they had left the restaurant he and Misora fell behind the other girls.

"You see," Misora began, "It was this night, I suddenly felt a… pressure in the chest, it was like a powerful wind, it was kind of like when my parents and I got surprised by this hurricane. I felt like I would blow away. But this time it was not for real, it was like it was blowing inside me."

Negi understood perfectly, she had felt a magic surge as the magic all over Kyoto had rushed to Negi when he summoned the dragons. "It's called a magic surge, you know that to use magic you draw it from your surroundings, sometimes when people draw on magic they need so much that you can literally feel it. That is a prime example of it."

"But I mean I didn't feel any magic near me. That means that it had to be several dozens of meters away. And the power that would create… is there any magic that can do that?" She was sharp.

"It was miles away actually," Negi decided to tell her at least a part of the truth, "There were some pretty nasty things happening the previous night, but you don't need to worry, I took care of it."

"It was you?" She stared at him. Negi just smiled at her. "Wow… I can see why Mei is so infatu…" She suddenly clasped her hands over her mouth. Negi chuckled,

"It's all right," He said, "I know all about that, it was obvious after ten seconds."

"Just don't tell her that I said it." Misora pleaded, "She'll get furious."

"My lips are sealed." Negi swore solemnly.

* * *

Negi Springfield wasn't a man given to brooding. To him, it was much better to do something, get things done. That had been his motto for years now and he never sat down and brooded when he had problems, he solved them. 

However the current situation wasn't something he could solve. Last night his body had dissolved into tainted liquid and reformed itself. How? Why? Negi rubbed his hands and tried to think clearly on the matter. Due to the many things that had happened the last twelve hours he had been able to push it aside but now there was nothing he could do to prevent the thoughts from coming.

He wasn't sure of anything anymore except for one thing.

He was terrified.

A part of him felt like he wanted to run home to Wales and crawl into Nekane's bed just like he had done as a child. Another part of him was giddy with excitement at the prospect of being able to transform instinctively and reform himself effortlessly and that part only scared him even more. He wasn't in control… he had only subdued the taint, not wrested control over it.

_"Stop this!"_ he thought to himself, _"all you have to do is manage for a few more weeks and then…" _Then what? Then he would be a demon without a goal, a fiend lurking amongst humanity. He took a deep breath and tried to relax for the umpteenth time. Tried and failed.

_"Monster…"_ Something within him whispered. Negi couldn't object, he was a monster. A demonic freak, there was no other way to put it. Both his soul and body was only human on the outside. Below the surface there was now a bubbling cauldron of darkness.

It wasn't a matter of him becoming a creature driven by lusts as he had been near becoming before the dark seals were branded into him, but a deep fundamental change beyond the scope of normal people's understanding. He had at several times now felt desires within him, desires that felt to him just as natural as breathing or eating, but were darker than the abyss.

Desire for power, desire to cause suffering, desire to drown the world in darkness. It was what he was now, what his very nature had become. How long would his mind hold on to a morale that was unnatural to him? How long before he became evil incarnate simply because it was who he was?

He was afraid… The man who without flinching faced the Sukuna, demon lords, arch-mages and much more trembled in fear of himself.

He was his own worst enemy. That saying had gained a totally new meaning to him.

_"Help me… somebody… anybody… help me, please!"_ That was the first time Negi Springfield prayed. He prayed to whatever higher power that would listen that he would have strength to keep going. His powers were so great that if he snapped he knew that he would be unstoppable.

"Hey, Negi!" A hand smacked him on the back and he leaped up from his chair and spun around. He came eye-to-eye with Asuna who stared at him. Negi raised his hands and made an apologetic gesture.

"I'm sorry Asuna-san, I've been awake for too long and I suppose I'm a little jumpy, too mcuh coffee." He gave her the saddest excuse for a smile ever. The red-headed girl looked at him before grabbing him.

"I know how to solve that…" She said and Negi, not having the strength to argue, followed her. She dragged him to an ice-cream parlor near the hotel and pushed him into one of the seats. "Two Kyoto-special." She said to the man behind the desk and soon two large sundae stood in front of them. Asuna grabbed her spoon and started to eat. After a few seconds she noticed that Negi hadn't started eating and pointed at his sundae. "Come on, eat."

"Eh… I don't…" Negi feebly protested.

"Eat it or wear it!" Asuna snapped. Negi took his spoon and dug in. He had to admit it was a really good sundae.

"Hey, Negi, by the way." Asuna eventually said, "When I woke up today I, I don't know what's wrong with me but I tried one of those pop quizzes you gave me. Guess what I got?"

"No idea, five?" Negi guessed.

"Seven!" Asuna smiled triumphantly.

"Really?" Negi was amazed, that was her best so far.

"Take a look if you want to." She said holding out a crumpled paper. Negi took it and looked at it. His eyes opened wide when he saw that not only had she gotten seven right but the remaining three had only small flaws. He sat there quiet for a moment before looking up at Asuna, who was shining with pride.

"Keep this up and they will have to get a new baka-red." He said. Asuna sniggered at this. "But seriously Asuna-san, this is an amazing improvement. If you can stay on this level you will be halfway to becoming the best in the class."

The red-head rolled her eyes. "Wow… smooth way of telling me that I'm average."

"Hey, that's not bad." Negi defended himself, "Considering that you were the lowest scorer it's a huge improvement and every journey starts with a single step."

"Hey!" Asuna said grumpily but with eyes twinkling with amusement, "You are supposed to tell me I'm the best."

Negi sighed and went back to his sundae.

As they had finished their sundae Asuna dragged Negi to the arcade where they had dumped the other girls last day. Apparently there was some tournament going on and Asuna wanted to participate. After giving Negi a dose of puppy eyes he agreed to participate as well. Having trained somewhat last day he managed to perform quite well but Asuna mopped the floor with her opposition, her reflexes giving her an immense advantage.

In the end the name put up on the list of the tournament winners was Asuna Kagurazaka. The red-headed girl jumped with joy as the owner of the arcade gave her the prize: a brand new gaming console.

The guys in the arcade were amazed that a girl had won and apparently she was nothing if not attractive to them. As soon as she had stepped off the stage she was mobbed by guys asking for a date. Now she really surprised Negi by striding up to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry, guys," She said, "I'm taken." After that she tossed the console to Negi, who put in under one arm, before grabbing the other arm and dragged him outside. Negi looked at her with a questioning look on his face.

"Is there something I've missed?" He asked her.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself;" Asuna rolled her eyes, "I needed to get rid of the geeks somehow."

"Ok… but you do realize I could get fired for that."

"Only if anyone is told, and I'll be our little secret, right?" She smiled wryly.

Now Negi couldn't help it, he started to laugh. He put down the console before dropping it and clutched his stomach. When he had regained his composure he said to her.

"You've spent too much time around me." Before sniggering again. Asuna smiled at him.

"Good… you've finally gotten out of your funk, it doesn't suit you."

"Yeah…" Negi couldn't do anything else than agree. "Let's get back to the hotel; I'm not going to carry this any more than necessary."

_"Thank you Asuna-san."_ Negi thought as they went back to the hotel. The despair was gone now. Thanks to the red-head he was calm again. Now he remembered why he fought. Now it was worth it. But as he looked at Asuna's back he came to think of something. He came to think of _him_…Negi's good mood was weakened but his resolve was still strong. Now he was ready to fight on.

Well back in his room he sat down by the table and clasped his hands in front of his face as he resumed his thinking. Asuna had given him the resolve he needed to calm down and he could view this matter clearly now. His mind went through the possibilities and options he had, sorted out the bad ones and slowly worked its way towards the best option. Sealing wasn't an option, nor was retirement, hoping that it would all work out on it's own was nothing short of foolishness...

After a while he made his decision. With a sigh he realized that when he was done with the ritual the book couldn't the only thing that would be destroyed.

He had to follow it into the void.

It was the only option available for him. He was too tainted, too befouled, to live. He had to die to ensure the safety of the world.

_"I'm sorry father."_ He thought as he looked out through the window at the sky, _"It seems like we'll never meet after all."_

* * *

The will to live is deeply ingrained within everyone. The fear of death ensures that humanity lives on. To mankind the realization that you'll soon die is a horror of the worst kind. The knowledge that you'll never be able to walk the world again can make even the bravest man feel despair. Most people will do anything to ensure that they can live on. An approaching and certain death brings horror to everyone. 

To Negi, it brought serenity.

He could see things much more clearly when he knew that he only had to complete his mission and then end his existence. He knew that his passing would cause grief amongst many. Nekane, Stan, Anya, his students, Takamichi and many more. He had so many that were precious to him. So with what right did he strive after death?

He wasn't selfish.

He had felt the taint changing him. Not just physically but also mentally. Actions that he'd never even consider before had suddenly become viable alternatives. He was quickly becoming more and more ruthless. As it were the thoughts only came up because they would help him save Asuna but he didn't delude himself into thinking anything else than that in the end he would be prepared to do anything to achieve anything. He had to die before he became a new Thanata.

He knew what he had to do and now he couldn't stop.

Not at anything.

* * *

Later that day it was group one's turn. Negi remembered his appointment with Kotaro and suggested that they went to eat at a nice little restaurant he knew. The girls, being who they were, were really enthusiastic about the idea. As Negi led them down the streets to Norihisa's restaurant he felt a surge of nostalgia. How many times hadn't he and Kotaro walked this road? The old man was a former member of the Everlasting Wind who, upon retirement, had opened a restaurant. But he still had many connections and his small restaurant had soon become more or less the mercenary hub of the supernatural part of Kyoto. It was here that they had gotten almost all of their assignments during the time as the wolf brothers. The old man had taken a liking to the two kids and become the closest thing to a father they had ever had. 

When he rounded the last corner he froze in his tracks, the calm little restaurant he remembered was gone. In its place stood a large karaoke bar with neon signs and two beefy bouncers standing outside. The girls took one look at the place and before Negi could stop them they had already rushed inside, Negi hurried after and when he entered the cheerleader girls were already standing on a large stage singing and the Narutaki twins were happily eating ice-cream at the bar. Behind the bar Negi recognized Norihisa and he made beeline for the old man whose face lit up when he saw him.

"Hello again Negi-kun!" He said happily, "It sure has been a long time. Here, take a drink and tell me how life has been the last years."

"Up and down," Negi said as Norihisa poured up a glass of saké in front of him, "And I'm still only seventeen."

"Old enough to knock out the six Sukuna, old enough to drink." Norihisa poured up a glass to himself too.

Negi sighed and took a swig of the saké, "Would you mind telling me what you have done with the place?" He asked, "I remembered a quaint, calm little restaurant."

"I got bored," The old man grinned, "After ten years of chopping fish for businessmen I was ready to commit seppuku. I renovated the place two years ago and now I have twice as many customers. Besides, the rowdiness only makes it easier to hire mercenaries since no one will listen in, they are too busy drinking."

"Then how did those girls get in if this place is that rowdy?" Negi asked pointing at the girls as the scene.

"I don't open the bar until ten pm. Until then it's a normal club and pretty calm."

"Fair enough." He shrugged, "Is Kotaro here?"

"He and the others are in the VIP lounge." Norihisa pointed at the stairs. "And what did you do to the white-haired kid? He didn't want to show it but he looked like he expected you to jump out of the shadows and eat him." Negi only smiled and left the bar bringing his glass along. He walked up the stairs where another bouncer stood outside a black door. The beefy man opened the door and as Negi came in he saw a large room, luxuriously furnitured, with a red broadloom on the floor and a large one-way-window that offered a view of the dance-floor below. Fate was standing by the window looking down at the crowd, Tsukuyomi sat in the sofa eating popcorn and Kotaro currently stood behind the bar mixing something. The three of them looked up at him with mixed reactions. Kotaro seemed pleased to see him, Tsukuyomi seemed nervous and Fate seemed indifferent; at least if you didn't notice the very subtle signs that showed his true emotions, he was scared.

"I'm not here to kill you if that's what you think." Negi began as he shut the door, some small part of him wondered what the bouncer would think of what he had heard. Probably believe it was a Yakuza meeting, "I'm here because I have some offers for you."

"What's that?" Kotaro asked.

"The first offer is for you two," he looked at the other two in the room, "You attacked my girls, you tried to kill them, but I'm not unreasonable. I want to give you a second chance. If you can obtain a few items for me I'm going to forget what you did. I'll even pay you well for it."

"What items?" Fate asked.

"I'll only tell you if you agree to work for me." Negi sat down at the bar.

"And if we don't?" Fate said.

"Unfortunately you don't really have that option Fate." Negi smiled as he took a sip of his saké, "You and Tsukuyomi are guilty of three different crimes, any one of these severe enough to condemn you to a lifetime as an ermine. You have assisted in terrorism, your attacks on the Kansai Magic Association. They will find the ones responsible, that's, amongst others, you two, and punish them. These things are usually, as you all know, handled by the best mages in the area, mages that would give even you a hard time."

"You have assisted in the release of some of the most dreaded spirits in Japan, these kind of things fall under the God's Cry's jurisdiction, the Aoyama family specifically and since it involves the Sukuna, Tsuruko and Motoko Aoyama, the Gods' Cry's finest in three hundred years, will be the ones to investigate."

"You have threatened the veil between the mundane and the supernatural world due to your actions at cinema village, that demon was one of your Malebranche, Fate, Rubicante wasn't it. These things are handled by the Supernatural Enclaves' Security Federation and I don't even know what branch of law enforcement they deal with. Basically; you are in deeper trouble than any person I've ever met before."

"At this point there is actually very little that anybody can do for you. The one thing that you can do for yourself is to somehow prove that you did not act out of your own free will. Ironically I'm the only person on the planet that can come to your aid now because I am the only one who can fake a slave-rune and tell the authorities that you worked under the effect of it. The offer expires within five minutes and I want you to remember that I'm the only hope you've got of staying out of a life as an ermine. Let me also tell you that they have several eyewitnesses; they have fingerprints, images and scrying-data. They _will_ get you."

"Why do you ask if you know that we have no other alternative?"

"It's always nice to be nice." Negi said calmly as he emptied his glass.

"Okay, I can't speak for whitey but I'll work for you." Tsukuyomi said, "That's the only option I got anyway. The God's Cry has exiled me. Might as well work for the guy who summons dragons." She smiled slightly but Negi could see that she was devastated by the news of her exile.

"I have no other option either. Istanbul won't give me any protection since I defected from them and as it is now I'm an outlaw." Fate said, "Consider me your servant."

"Good. Now that we have gotten that taken care of…" He got up, "Let's put those fake seals on you." His hands started to glow with a red light as runes began to appear on them. He looked from Fate to Tsukuyomi; neither made any move towards him.

"Are you backing out?" He asked. Eventually Tsukuyomi stood up and got near him. She trembled slightly as Negi put his hand on her forehead, fear evident in her eyes. The young girl gasped as the light enveloped her and a black rune appeared on her forehead. She eventually slumped together and Negi caught her. He put her in the sofa again and turned to Fate, "Are you coming?"

The white-haired boy didn't change expression at all but his fear was evident in the way his hands shook. He walked up to Negi and closed his eyes. When Negi touched his forehead his eyes opened again and Negi saw lights dance inside them. Eventually the rune appeared on his forehead too and he stumbled away even if he managed to stay on his feet at first. But after a few seconds he collapsed too. Negi put him on the sofa beside Tsukuyomi.

"I got to check up on the girls." Negi said, "Come get me when they have awakened."

"You really get off on this whole "Evil Mastermind" gig, dont'cha?" Kotaro asked with a grin as he poured up a glass of tequila. "That was some really slick stuff." Negi looked back at him with a neutral look on his face and shook his head.

"Not really, it's just business." He said before going down. The five girls were currently sitting by one of the tables eating sushi. Negi sat down beside them and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

"Hey this place is great sensei!" Misa said, "Can't we call the other girls too?"

"I don't know…" he said hesitantly, "Wasn't I supposed to be with you today?"

"Aw come on." Sakurako said, "They'd love this place. Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Negi threw his hands into the air, "It's your call girls." Actually it would be perfect, that way he could finish things here without urgency. The girls threw themselves at their phones and called the rest of the class who arrived soon. After a few minutes Kotaro came down the stairs and motioned for Negi to come. He excused himself from his conversation with Norihisa and walked upstairs again. Fate and Tsukuyomi sat on the sofa waiting for him. Negi put a map on the table.

"The items you need to obtain are illegal." He began, "Very illegal. Ever heard of the Nakhaza?"

"Blood-diamonds." Fate said, "Red diamonds used in many types of high level necromantic rituals."

"I need five of those. I also need Blackfire seeds, Kraken oil and Yozi venom."

"Don't know much about magic but it sounds like pretty creepy stuff." Tsukuyomi said.

"Astute guess," Fate said, "Those components are used for only the darkest of rituals. What are you planning?"

"That is for me to know and for you to stay out of." Negi said coldly, "Let me remind you that you have already agreed to work for me. Double-cross me and you'll regret it even beyond the grave."

Tsukuyomi gulped.

"Here are the most probable locations for the items," Negi said pointing at several spots on the map. "I have reason to believe that these locations are dangerous however and I want you to co-operate on this. Failure is not an option" He looked up at them. "I want this job to be finished within one month. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what was that about a reward?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"Half a million Yen each," Negi said without hesitation. "And I'm not going to negotiate so don't waste your time."

"How do we get the God's Cry off our backs?" Fate asked, "We have the runes but what's the next step?"

"I'll call them and tell that that you are here and that I've subdued you, they'll arrive and I'll discover the runes, the runes will be broken and you will claim to have been under the effect of them."

"That's the plan?" Kotaro asked, "Ain't never going t' work, too simple."

"You forget who I am, Negi said, "I'm considered a hero, remember. They will fall for it."

"Cool." The hanyō took a swig of the tequila, "But what about me? You didn't put any rune on my head."

"That's because you are going with me." Negi said, "Thus far you haven't caused any actual trouble, only delayed on of my students during last night and I can easily come up with some convincing lies about the attack outside the temple. If I claim that you have been an undercover agent in my service they will let you go."

"You have all bases covered it seems." Fate remarked. "When do we begin?"

"Right about now." Negi said as he looked out of the window and saw a group of disguised samurai enter the place.

* * *

The warriors of the Gods' Cry stood in the garden waiting for the last member of the strike-team to arrive. Apparently a western mage had demanded to be a part of this. Daisuke Hajime, the young prodigy who had been chosen to lead said team, had remembered said mage as the one who had brought word of the existence of the Heaven's Wing to the Gods' Cry. The son of the Thousand Master; Negi Springfield. They all noticed someone entering the garden and the mage came into view. 

The sheer charisma of the man in front of them was impossible not to notice. Negi Springfield was a tall, fair-skinned man, with deep brown eyes and red hair, who wore the type of flowing robes the western mages favored. Daisuke couldn't help but notice how two of the girls in his team stared at him and he was prepared to bet quite a lot on that they wasn't captivated by the power he radiated.

Negi looked at them all before speaking up.

"It appears that the Gods' Cry hasn't understood how serious this is." His voice, even if clear and strong, betrayed his irritation. Daisuke gritted his teeth, even if he was only fifteen the mage in front of him was only two years his elder. He had expected him to be a little more tolerant. "But I suppose that I can't be choosy. Have you all been told what we're up against?" He asked them.

"A splinter faction of the Kansai Magic association who are commonly known as the Kansai extremists." Daisuke said, "They are a group of around thirty mages who specialize if the use of summoning and talisman magic. One of their members, Chigusa Amagasaki, was the one responsible for summoning the Sukuna three days ago. They have also made themselves guilty to kidnapping, several cases of assault, terrorism etc. The Kansai magic association has decided to take action and we are assembled to arrest them."

Negi sighed.

"Wrong." He said, "We are assembled to annihilate them." This made Daisuke blink. "The Kansai extremists have committed one crime that gives us no other option that to wipe them out. They have made deals with the dark gods. These deals have caused a form of supernatural energy known as taint to take root in them. Unlike a normal possession this taint cannot be exorcised and these deals were made willingly by the extremists, therefore it is too unlikely that they will cooperate if we try to seal it to take that chance. This leaves only one option. To kill them all."

"Hey wait a second here!" one of the samurai, a brash young man named Genji, spoke up. "Do you think you can just waltz in here and tell us to commit mass murder?" Negi gave the man a chilling glare.

"Yes." He said calmly. "The only reason you are even assembled is that the Supernatural Government has decided to respect the Gods' Cry's jurisdiction in this area. Normally we couldn't care less about what you think but we have decided to give you a chance to deal with this."

"Give us…" Genji sputtered, "How dare you! We are the Gods' Cry! We have defended Kyoto for hundreds of years! You think that you can just roll in and take over?"

Negi sighed, "Allow me to clarify." He said gently. "This taint is the essence of pure evil. When it has taken root it will forever remain in you. You cannot escape it. It's a cancer seeping into your soul, twisting it and turning you into the worst kind of demon; a demon who willingly gave up your humanity for power. And a tainted mage is one of the most deadly adversaries you can face. This taint gives them enough power to become a whirlwind of terror and death. It's not something that can be redeemed or reversed. A tainted mage must cause misery and bloodshed. It's impossible for him not to. The Supernatural Government decided over twelve hundred years ago that these monsters must be destroyed. It doesn't matter when, how, where or who. They, must, die. Normally we would send in a hundred of our best warrior-mages to destroy them but I wanted to give the samurai who has, as you said, watched over Kyoto for centuries, a chance. Now, which ones amongst you have the strength to utterly destroy them without any mercy or hesitation? If you have it, step forth. If you don't, leave."

Negi's gaze drilled into them all. Daisuke couldn't help but notice how sad his eyes were. Without one word he stepped up to him. Soon the rest of the samurai had taken a step forwards too.

Negi nodded.

"Then let's destroy these demons."

* * *

Negi hadn't been overly impressed by the warriors the Gods' Cry had sent but they surprised him, especially the young Daisuke who was a true prodigy in the arts of the Gods' Cry. After his speech they were completely convinced of the necessity to destroy the extremists and the battle had been swift and brutal. There was nothing heroic about the massacre that took place, most of the mages hadn't even time to cast a single spell before they were cut down and none of the nhad had chance to beg for their lives. In the end Negi put the building on fire, thereby ending the Kansai extremists once and for all. 

Negi had just left the hotel again. This time he had claimed that he wanted to visit an old friend. Setsuna, Konoka and Asuna came along however seeing as how they were already involved enough that it would be impossible to keep his plans for Kotaro secret.

They were currently heading for Negi's father's safe house. Negi had decided to search the place for things that might help his plans. Upon entering he sighed nostalgically, he remembered when he had first come here.

_Flashback:_

_"Wow…" The twelve-year-old Negi said as he looked at the bookshelves._

_"We've kept it just the way it was when he was last here." Eishun said. Negi was walking along the bookshelves reading the titles. There were all kinds of books here, everything from advanced magic theory (that looked like they never had been opened) to manga; Negi had a little problem imagining his father sitting in a sofa reading manga._

_As he came upstairs he saw a photo on the wall. It was of his father and his companions in the Crimson Wing. His father was only about fifteen on the photo. He stood with a grin on his face and around him were the others. Albiero looked just the same there as he did now. Eishun on the other hand was young and healthy on the photo instead of the scarred old man he was now. But the biggest difference was Takamichi; he was no older than Negi on the photo. It was hard for him to connect the kid on the photo with the man he was now._

_"I have something here I think might help you." The elder said as he picked up a cardboard tube. "It's some maps he used to work with before he disappeared. I hope that they can help you."_

_End flashback:_

Negi snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Setsuna gasp.

"You!" She hissed and drew her sword; in front of them, lying on the sofa, was Kotaro.

"Me." He said looking up at them, "Nice crib you got here Negi, how come we never used this place t' rest in?"

Negi shrugged, "I actually forgot about this place. I never thought about it as a home to be honest."

"Idiot." Kotaro got up from the sofa, "and could you tell th' pissed girl t' sheathe her sword? She ain't gonna listen to me."

"Sheathe your sword Setsuna-san," Negi said, "Kotaro is with us."

"What?!" The samurai didn't believe her ears and neither did Asuna.

"I was an undercover agent." Kotaro said, "Tried t' get some info by workin' for 'em. Didn't work though, they never told me anything."

"You honestly expect me to believe that?" Setsuna said.

"Not he, I expect you to believe it." Negi said, "Sheathe the sword. Now!" he continued more forcefully. Setsuna eventually sheathed her blade.

"What's wrong Set-chan?" Konoka asked, her friend's actions having unsettled her. Kotaro chortled when he heard her.

"Set-chan eh?" He chuckled, "Gotta remember that one."

"Enough!" Negi said; this was getting ridiculous. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Kotaro, he's one of my oldest friends and he helped me with infiltrating the Kansai extremists. The times he attacked it was due to there being no other option if he wanted his cover to remain intact."

Asuna looked at him with a suspicious look on her face and Setsuna was livid. Konoka however was her usual happy self.

"Hi Kotaro-kun." She said to him.

"Hi yourself Konoka-chan," he grinned, "pleasure meetin' ya. Peanuts?" He asked holding out a bowl towards her. She thanked him and took a few of them as she sat down in one of the armchairs. Negi looked sideways at the other girls. Neither of them looked especially pleased.

"I don't care what image you have of him. He's my friend and he risked his life for us. You better behave." With that he walked away, "I got to check up on a few things, don't wreck the house."

Eventually Asuna sat down too even if she was a little more reserved against him but Setsuna remained standing with an ice-cold look in her eyes. Then Konoka turned around and looked with a worried expression at her friend.

"Come on Set-chan, sit down you too, you don't need to look so angry."

"I… excuse me ojou-sama." Setsuna turned around and left the room. Konoka looked after her with a sad expression on her face. Kotaro chewed thoughtfully on his peanuts.

"She ain't likin' me." He stated.

"I thought Set-chan had warmed up to people." Konoka said sadly.

"It's all right," Asuna said as she patted her on the back, "She'll get used to him."

"Well I gotta answer a call of nature, be back soon." Kotaro got up and headed for the bathroom. But he took a detour and walked into the room where Setsuna had gone.

"Still pissed 'bout me beatin' you?" He asked with a smirk.

"Don't think that you're off the hook just because you managed to trick Negi-sensei!" Setsuna hissed at him, "Make one move against Konoka-ojou-sama and I will have your head you creature!"

"Creature eh?" Kotaro asked, the smirk never leaving her face, "You really like t' diss my inugami blood dont'cha? Well let me just ask you one thing." He leaned in.

"Your wings… they are white ain't they?" he whispered, only inches from her ear. Setsuna froze. "Your hair's dyed, I felt th' smell, and you also smell of th' crow tribe. Now th' crow tribe ain't got nothin' but black hair. That means you gotta be one of those white ravens. The ones born as an ill omen an' exiled 'cause of it. Cute actually, you dick 'round 'cause I'm a half-inugami but you're just as much spirit-born as me. An' on top of that you're an albino born into th' tribe that hates albinos. You ain't in no position t' diss my heritage, Set-chan, so can it, would you? You're th' same as me" With that he walked over to the bathroom, leaving a trembling Setsuna behind.

* * *

_"It's amazing how the way you perceive a photograph can change."_ Negi thought as he looked upon the photo. Last time he had seen the men on the photo as heroes, as titans. Now he didn't know what to make of it. The biggest change was his father. Last time he had looked upon the man on the picture as if he was god himself. Now he only saw an arrogant whelp whose immense powers made him lazy, irresponsible and rebellious. Negi had never even met him and he had been running around collecting the rarest of components to save the only clue he had to his whereabouts. But now, as he had given up on finding him, he could for the first time look clearly on his father. 

Did the Thousand Master even deserve to be called father? He could understand that he hadn't met him the years before he had to run away from home. He had traveled with Asuna then. But what about his earliest childhood? The man hadn't even come to see him once! He hadn't even acknowledged the fact that he had a son. Years had passed without even as much as a hello from him. The Thousand Master had never been his father. The only thing he had done had been to send demons to ensure that he would survive. What kind of sick love was that? And Nekane had told him that the years after he left had been peaceful and calm just like the time before he left. There hadn't been any signs of kidnappers or attackers. And his home village was only a few kilometers away from the Mages' Academy, a place where an immense amount of firepower and knowledge was gathered. They would have been able to reinforce the village in seconds if anything happened. His home village was one of the safest places on earth.

Perhaps it had never been Nagi's intention of aiding him. Negi had heard that one of the most discerning traits of the Thousand Master had been his cleverness. He had been a master of sneaky plans and tricks. Perhaps… perhaps he had sent the demons to ensure that Negi would be powerful enough to finish his work, not survive. The more he thought about it the more plausible it seemed. The Thousand Master had ensured that the tracks would lead straight to his journal and the revelation of Asuna. The Thousand Master had taken care of the girl during his travels and done everything for her. He had even decided to challenge one of the Demon Kings. It did make sense that the devious bastard would manipulate the son he didn't care about to continue his work in case he failed. It was ten years ago that he traveled to the infernal realm that was Malfeas' home. Two years thereafter Negi had fled his home chased by the demons.

Negi knew enough about human nature to know that there were people who could care immensely about some people but view everyone else as pawns to be used as they saw fit. Was that how the Thousand Master had viewed him? As a pawn? He had taken Nagi's love for granted, he had been sure that the Thousand Master would see him as a son. Now he wasn't so sure anymore. He took one last look on the photo before he punched it. The glass frame shattered and the photo fell to the ground. He picked it up and summoned the taint together with his magic.

"Practi-biginaru Ardescat." He said emotionlessly. The green flame devoured the picture in a second and the ashes rained to the ground. Negi turned around and walked back downstairs. There was nothing for him here.

* * *

A/N: And so the Kyoto arc comes towards it's ending. Negi now has his path set, there are no place for him in this world. Perhaps many of you will get pissed at this desicion but if you think about it, what else can he do? I can also say that the story isn't over yet. 

On the other point I'd like to tell those who fear this will be an Asuna/Negi that it will be very light, due to the circumstances stated in this chapter. I can also promise you that in the next chapter there will also be some Negi/Eva AND a little lime, perhaps that can satify you?

Final point then, the competition, next clue is that the demon in question was mentioned in a book written by the medieval age author Dante Alighieri. Said book is his most famous one.


	30. Treading many paths

**Chapter 29: Treading many paths  
**

* * *

The train wagon was oddly quiet considering that the rowdiest class of Mahora filled it. The school trip had actually managed to drain them and most of them were fast asleep. Negi sat beside Asuna looking out of the window as the Japanese landscape rushed by. He savored the silence as Kotaro snuck up beside him and knocked on his shoulder. 

"Let's go to get some food." He said. The few girls who weren't asleep looked up at the black-haired young man who had just addressed their teacher. Many of them had gotten that curious glint in their eyes. Negi chose to get up and vacate the wagon before they pounced him. They made their way to the restaurant wagon and ordered a bento each, when they had gotten their food they sat down at one of the tables and Kotaro took out a small bottle out of his jacket pocket and poured the contents into his glass.

"Care for some?" He asked. "It's that strong bear slayer saké Ishikawa makes."

"Sure," Negi felt like he needed something strong. The contents in the bottle were enough to fill his glass too and they both downed it in one go.

"Mind telling me something?" Kotaro asked when his glass was empty.

"What?"

"Where did you get that money? A million ain't something you just pull outta your ass."

"That would be thanks to me." Chamo said proudly from Negi's shoulder.

"Before we entered Aokigahara Chamo put all my savings into some shady deals." Negi explained, "Some kind of "sponsor ten percent of this deal and after two years you can collect twenty percent of the profits." When I got out of there I collected what they owed me. It turned out to be nearly a hundred million Yen. I became a millionaire just like that."

Kotaro laughed. "That musta been quite th' sight when you checked your bank account."

"Guess if," Negi smiled at the memory, "I nearly fainted on the spot."

"Cool. One more thing though, what are you up to now?"

"Does it matter to you?" Negi asked.

"Nah, not really, I'll follow you wherever you go." Kotaro said, "I ain't givin' a shit about what you're gonna do an' I mean that," The raven-haired fighter had a dead serious look on his face,."You're my friend an' that's all I need. But I sure would like t' know. What's gonna happen now? World domination?"

Negi chuckled at this "Sorry to disappoint you but I have no such ambitions." he said. "As it is I'm going to finish that ritual I mentioned. We'll take the future after that."

"And what do you need me for? I ain't too good with advanced magic you know."

"Need you?" Negi said, "You are a friend Kotaro. Do I need a reason why I want to have you with me?"

"I can get that," Kotaro said, "but you've gotten too tricky for me t' swallow that. It's all right man, you need me t' help you an' I'm 'ere t' help 's long as you're straight with me."

Negi smiled, "All right, I need you for the same things I needed Fate and Tsukuyomi. Only that we'll work together. I've found a place that holds a key component but it is right in the middle of an ancient temple. That'll mean guardians and the item I need has to be drawn from the air around it."

"Magic essence, right?"

"Right; and I can't cast the right spells if I'm going to have to fight off the guardians at the same time. From what I have seen the temple has a virtually endless amount of minor guardian spirits so I can't just finish them off before gathering it. I need you as a ministra of sorts."

"Don't you have th' red-head for that?"

Negi shook his head. "She isn't meant for this stuff. She deserves a normal life. It was a mistake to involve her from the beginning. I'm not going to put her in any more danger. Not for me."

"She ain't gonna be happy about that." Kotaro pointed out, "She seemed pretty determined 'bout helpin' you."

"It's my choice Kotaro."

"Sure, sure." The hanyō said, "Just wanted t' make sure you knew."

"I know…" Negi looked out of the window, "I know…"

* * *

Asuna opened her eyes and looked out across the desert. A small part of her wondered why she was there but her body moved on its own. She saw a grizzled man sitting by a fireplace. The man spoke up when he saw her. 

"Already awake?" His voice was hoarse but seemed kind. "You can wash your face over there," he pointed at a small pool of water.

"'Kay" a voice, probably her even though she didn't recognize it, said. She walked up to it and splashed some of the water on her face. In the pool she saw her own reflection. But she was so young. She looked only four or five years old. She looked at the stars which sparkled in the night, almost too many to seem real. What was she doing here? And why did everything seem so familiar? It was then that she heard someone approaching.

"I'm back," the newcomer said.

"Already?" the man by the fire said.

"Yeah, and I managed to catch three "rat-type" things," The newcomer held up his bounty.

"Things… as in to eat?" Asuna asked

"Hey, you're up early." The newcomer said to her with a tender voice.

Asuna recognized the man's face, but not because she could remember having seen it before. She recognized it because it was so much like the face of the man she had seen every day for months now. As the man leaned in she realized who it had to be.

"Look at the sky Asuna," Negi's father said, "What a lovely dawn."

* * *

Asuna woke in her bed blinking. 

_"What a strange dream."_ She thought to herself. She looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly ten already. She remembered that the school trip was over and it was Sunday. A scraping sound drew her attention and she looked at the loft where Negi sat writing something.

"Would you quit "skrit, skrit"-ing already?" She asked him, "We just got back."

"Good morning Asuna-san." Negi answered and continued writing.

Asuna jumped over to the loft and landed on Negi's futon. "What are you doing?"

"I'm writing a journal."

"What?" Asuna seemed amused, "I never thought you'd write a diary."

"It's not just a diary Asuna-san," Negi shut the book he had been writing in; "A diary is where you write down what you feel and think. A magical journal is where you imprint what you feel and think. By creating this I can create an "image" of what I'm thinking and feeling. It's a way of putting your personality on paper. By using this I can remember exactly how I felt when I wrote this or that."

"Oh, okay…" Asuna said, "Why are you doing that?"

Negi gave her an amused look, "Guess three times. I'm trying to make sure that I can in the future remember who I was at this moment, why would I do that?"

Asuna got something cold in her chest when she realized what he meant, "Okay. Good idea."

"Things are starting to come together though." Negi said seemingly untroubled by his predicament. "Soon I will be able to accomplish the ritual I told you about. In about one month the preparations will be complete."

"That's nice."

Negi got down from the loft. "I'll need some more things before I can do it though, I might as well take care of it now."

"Give me a minute." Asuna said and changed her clothes before following him outside. They walked through Mahora as Negi told Asuna how rituals worked.

"Rituals are basically spells with extremely long incantations. They can take everything from a minute to a day to cast and are much more powerful than normal spells. A few good examples of rituals are those spells that make you turn into a giant or send you to other planes of existence or create natural disasters. You often need to use components when casting rituals. These components are items that have a magical resonance. I'll not explain resonance; that will take days. By using them you can achieve effects that otherwise would be impossible to create with mere magic."

"So what were those other things you needed?"

"A secluded place to practice the ritual at, a place with an abundance of background magic and some rare books to double check a few things."

"You have any idea where to get that?"

"I have; a very good idea." Negi said as Asuna saw where they had gone.

"Eva-chan's place?!" Asuna yelled, "Are you on crack?"

"No I'm not, she needs me and I need her. She'll help."

"Good day Negi-sensei, Asuna-san." Chachamaru said as she opened the door when Negi knocked.

The vampiress was not amused by his request though. She was suffering from hay fever and was not in a good mood when Negi asked.

"Are you on crack?" She asked, "Do you really expect me to give you full access to my sanctum?"

"Not expect," Negi said, "more like hope."

"Well forget it!" Evangeline snapped. "I'm not going to let you turn it into your personal playground."

"No matter what I offer in return?" Negi said, "I'm prepared to pay a lot for permission to use it."

"Really…?" Evangeline smirked before sticking out her foot, "Well then; start by licking this, then promise to become my slave forever and then we'll talk." She seemed to glow with sinister glee. Asuna became furious and was near to jump her when Negi held out his arm to hold her back. He leaned in and whispered something in Evangeline's ear. The vampire froze and looked at him. Her eyes showed fear, confusion, anger and many other feelings all at once.

"Fine!" She snarled, "You can have it!"

Negi smiled at her. "Thank you Evangeline-san."

"Now get out!" The vampiress snapped.

"What did you say to her?" Asuna asked when they had exited the cottage.

"That she shouldn't annoy the only guy who can release her." Negi grinned, for a moment Asuna got a flashback to the dream. During one moment Negi had looked almost exactly like his father. The resemblance made her blink.

"What's the matter?" Negi asked when Asuna stared at him.

"N-nothing." Asuna said. They proceeded down the campus streets.

* * *

When the first school day after the trip had finished Negi got a message from an unknown number. 

"World Tree stairs, now." was all it said. The whole thing virtually reeked suspicious. But Negi still decided to go, only in his own way. When he reached the vicinity of the stairs he summoned an illusion of himself and sent it towards the stairs. The real Negi prepared a delayed spell, leapt up on the roof of one of the buildings near the stairs and suppressed his ki. The illusion reached the center of the stairs and he kept his eyes on it. It was then that something appeared behind him and he had barely time to dodge before a kick passed the air where his head had been a split-second earlier. His attacker pressed on and Negi was forced to leap off the building onto another roof.

When the other leaped after him Negi managed to regain his balance and when the other landed he attacked straight on. A sweeping low kick forced the other to jump and Negi followed with a high snap kick. The opponent managed to parry however, grabbed his foot and threw him away when he landed. Negi grinned as he charged again towards the other who swung his fist at him but the mage dodged under it and managed to put his hand on the other's stomach.

"Emittam!" He said and a swarm of air arrows captured his opponent.

"Hey that's cheating!" Kotaro yelled as he was rendered immobile.

"So what are you going to do?" Negi asked, "Cry?"

"Hey, just you wait until I get outta this!" Kotaro tore at the bonds. "I'll kick your ass!"

"Give up Kotaro." Negi said, "You know you can't escape those chains just like that." The hanyō sighed.

"Okay, okay, you win." He said and Negi willed the bonds to fade.

"Was there anything special you wanted?" Negi asked as his friend was released.

"Nah… "The hanyō sat down. "Just wanted t' see if you wanted t' hang out. This place bores the crap outta me. Ain't nothing fun t' do."

"At least not as long as your idea of fun is fighting and killing." Negi remarked dryly as he sat down beside him. "There might be some problem finding that kind of things at a school."

"Hey what can I say, I'm a guy of simple pleasures." Kotaro shrugged. "But I can have fun in other ways too. Any ideas?"

"Negi!" Asuna's voice came from the stairs. She, Konoka and Setsuna were standing at the bottom of the stairs yelling after his illusion.

"Whoops." Negi said, "I better get down there."

"Right behind you." Kotaro said as Negi used a max speed shundo to move into the same spot as his illusion and dispelled it. To the untrained eye it was impossible to see what just had happened.

"Hey Asuna-san." He said, "What is it"

"Well, we talked with Setsuna and it turns out she never has gone bowling or karaoke before. We thought we should take her. Wanna come along?"

"Sure." Negi said. It was then that Kotaro leapt down from the railing behind him.

"Bowling?" He asked, "Never tried that before. Can I tag along too?"

"Sure!" Konoka said before Asuna had any chance of speaking up. From the look on her face it was possible that Asuna would have given a different answer.

* * *

They went to a large bowling hall called "Tori-Bowl" Apparently some other girls had overheard it too and a large potion of the class had come. Negi and Kotaro ended up sharing a lane. The hanyō proved yet again his ignorance in everything not attached to fighting by hurling the ball through the air and Negi's class nearly laughed themselves to death as the owner of the hall came out yelling at him to stop. 

Kotaro seemed pretty embarrassed about the whole thing, especially the girls' attention. When Kotaro had forced his hanyō features to recede and appear fully human he was actually quite handsome and the girls, especially Madoka and Yuna, seemed _very_ interested in him. Being their hot teacher's friend only increased his appeal and Negi decided, for the sake of the world, of course, to not give him any aid at all. He disappeared into the background and looked at the scene; the hanyō seemed ready to bolt as girls surrounded him on all sides.

* * *

_"I'm gonna wring your neck for this Negi-teme…"_ Kotaro thought as the girls surrounded him. It wasn't that he didn't like girls. He was only a guy after all and he had desires just like anyone else. 

But he couldn't stand these girls' high-pitched voices and ditzy personalities. They were like a bunch of kittens on a sugar high. He gritted his teeth as his sensitive ears were bombarded by questions. It was like they had never seen a guy before and asked him about everything. And in one corner of the room Negi stood watching the whole thing, the prick was enjoying it.

Kotaro stood still as he looked at his old friend. Tainted eh? Kotaro knew that tainted mages were more than just enemies of the mages' society; they were monsters devoted to causing pain and death. But he just couldn't care. What did he owe the mages? Hardly any mage he had ever met had even seen him as a person. To them he was a half-blood creature. Negi had been the first to see him as an individual and, eventually, friend. Kotaro had been terrified when he left Aokigahara. He knew that the years in that forest he changed him.

_Flashback:_

_The hanyō sat in the trees looking down at the goblins that snuck around below it. The pathetic things had thought that they could sneak up on him. He grinned in anticipation as he crouched together and jumped down from the branch. When he hit the ground he was in the middle of the group and they all turned towards him._

_"There, there." one gibbered, "Bad dog."_

_"Bad, bad dog!" another added. "Killed whelps, destroyed lair"_

_"Killed females, killed old," another said._

_"Bad, bad dog!" they all yelled._

_"You gonna jabber all day or get somethin' done?" Kotaro knew what they meant; a day earlier he had destroyed their warren. The ugly little things had refused to let him pass through their tunnels and he had destroyed them as revenge. The rule of the forest was that that kind of challenges only could be answered with blood. The males had been out hunting and he had remained in the area for a chance to finish them too. Now they had found him._

_"Bad dog!" They charged him with their dirty claws held high. Kotaro kicked one of them in the head so that his neck snapped and lashed out with his claws to the sides tearing up the bowels of two more. As the rest neared he leapt up on one's head and stomped it so that it caved in._

_Four dead._

_He jumped through the air and summoned a swarm of black dogs that he sent towards the remaining seven. Three of them struck home and the victims were torn apart by his servants._

_Seven dead._

_Upon landing he dashed towards the remainder roaring. The goblins were now in panic and tried to flee. He caught up with two of them and slit their jugulars and with a Shundo he reached the third. A vicious arm thrust through the chest ended that one and he ran off after the last one. He dug his claws into the ground as he ran and focused._

_"Inugami-ryu secret technique. Dust Wolf Hunt!" he threw up a cloud of dirt that dashed towards the goblin and took the shape of a wolf. The canine caught up with the goblin and tore off its heel tendons. The goblin fell to the ground and rolled around only to see Kotaro standing over him._

_"P-please!" the goblin whined, "Not bite, not bite. G-good dog." It begged for its life. Kotaro stomped him in the face._

_"Seems like you forgot th' rule of th' forest you little shit." He growled viciously. "The strong lives, th' weak dies!"_

_And then there were eleven dead._

_End Flashback:_

He hadn't felt any remorse at all. He couldn't feel it. Living there tore out those feelings. When he had met Negi again he had been certain the mage would despise him for what he was. But Negi knew. He knew how it was in there. He had gazed into the maw of evil too. And like Kotaro, Negi had been affected by it. Perhaps even more, since he had been tainted. But he had found a way to control it he said. He would still be himself. And he needed Kotaro. That was all Kotaro needed. As long as Negi was with him and accepted him, he'd gladly do anything.

To him, Negi was the alpha. The only authority Kotaro would ever answer to.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't kick his ass for abandoning him in the middle of a horde of ditzy teenage brats.

* * *

Setsuna sat on her prayer mat in front of the small shrine in her room and tried desperately to focus. The disgusting hanyō had thrown her life into chaos. She had just managed to become friends with Konoka-ojou-sama again and now that… that… thing had to come with them back to Mahora. She didn't understand how Negi-sensei could trust that creature. 

Even now she saw the face of that bestial fiend in front of her. Those hungry eyes that watched people like they were prey. That sadistic grin that bared his fangs, fangs that he would like nothing better than to bury in someone's throat.

_"You're th' same as me."_ She winced as the words echoed in her head. She had worked so hard to hide that part of herself. Setsuna felt how she nearly puked from the disgust. That fiend was right. She was the same as him. She took off her shirt and looked at herself. The wings slowly extended from her back. Those despicable white wings. She clenched her fists as she remembered how the elders of her bird tribe had stood in front of her and callously told her that she was no longer one of the tribe.

"The messengers of death have no place here." They had said before she was thrown out from her home. She had been only four years old but the memories still haunted her. If it hadn't been for the Shinmei-ryu samurai that found her she would never have survived. But she had lied to them. She had hidden her wings and told them that she was an orphan.

The Shinmei-ryu.

Tokou-sensei

Konoka-ojou-sama.

She had lied to them all. She had lied about that fact that she was a monster. A thing! She was despicable! But she couldn't… She couldn't stand up and tell them the truth. She was too afraid. She was, for the first time in years, happy. With ojou-sama she could smile from her heart.

The arrogance…

How dared she think that she deserved to be happy?! That she deserved to have friends?! Setsuna felt a sob escape her. If she had any honor she would have maintained her distance to her charge but Negi-sensei had forced her to become friends with Konoka-ojou-sama again.

Negi-sensei…

How she envied that man. He was so strong, incredibly brave, truly just, immensely skilled and completely honest. Negi was everything she aspired to be. And he had it so easy. He didn't have to deal with being a monster. He was pure, untainted. He could walk with his head held high. She felt her self-loathing flare up again. She was a disgusting hypocrite. There was in the end only one thing that redeemed her even the slightest in comparison to that Kotaro.

She knew what she was. She knew that if she wanted to have any right to live she would have to atone for her very existence. Protecting Konoka-ojou-sama was the only thing that justified her existence.

* * *

Negi walked along the bookcases trying to find the book he was looking for. The vampiress' library was beyond anything he had ever seen. It was one of the biggest he had seen and it held every rare volume he knew of _and_ many he had never even heard of. He estimated that the value of this library was at least ten times greater than even the one in Wales. The giant tower had at least a dozen floors and all of them were filled with bookshelves. The whole building had an almost monastic feel; the irony of this since it was owned by the dark evangel wasn't lost on Negi as he found the book on the lower shelves and took it to a table where he opened it. 

It was written in ancient Sumerian and described the summoning of Tiamat; how the ancient spellweavers of the city Ur had summoned an incarnation of their god. They had managed to shatter the bonds that held their god from entering the world and allowed it to enter. However Tiamat had not been amused by their games with the supernatural laws and had cursed the twelve cities of Sumer to wither and die. The spellweavers had missed the fact that the incarnae, the gods, apparently were devoted to the balance of the universe and would not allow anything to threaten it.

_"But what about Malfeas then?"_ Negi wondered. The ninth demon-king's agenda was in all ways opposed to the other incarnae. The seven rulers of the high realms and the eight other rulers of the low realms were nothing like it. Where they advocated a certain amount of balance it advocated pure chaos and destruction. It was like a dark mage in that aspect.

Dark mage… did that mean that Malfeas was that incarnae equivalent of a dark mage? A being corrupted by the taint? The possibility made Negi cold inside. That meant that the taint didn't originate from Malfeas as many believed but came from something else. He suddenly thought of the Lovecraft stories he had read; the stories of elder gods beyond the universe that at best ignored humanity and at worst despised it. Was that the truth? Had that kind of beings reached into the universe and tainted one of the incarnae?

He shook his head and left that train of thought. He didn't need to understand Malfeas. Only foil it. The sound of feet walking down the stairs made him look towards the staircase. Evangeline was coming into the chamber. She had her glamour up and was yet again the stunning beauty Negi remembered from the battle on the bridge.

"Hello Evangeline-san." Negi said before returning to the book.

"Hello bōya." Evangeline said. She reached him and put her hands on his shoulders. "I trust your research is going well?"

"Extremely well in fact." Negi said trying to ignore her hands. "Your library is unsurpassed. You have things here any library in the world would kill to own."

"I've always been fond of books." Evangeline said, "They are just like blood in one aspect."

"They are both "red". I heard you that time you jumped Nodoka-san."

"You have come far since then bōya." Evangeline purred. "I wonder what people would say if they knew the truth about you now."

"I honestly don't care." Negi said as he made some notes. "The opinions of the ignorant don't concern me."

"Then what concerns you?" Evangeline asked.

"Finishing this ritual."

"And they say men are afraid of commitment." Evangeline slid her hands across his shoulders. "You are too stiff," She continued, "You'll get neck problems if this continues." She started to massage his shoulders and neck. "I must say that I respect men who devote themselves to their path. Especially a path like yours."

"I only have one path." Negi discovered that the vampiress was a masterful masseur. Her soft hands were stronger than they looked and they moved across his muscles removing the strain in them with their skilled kneading. "If I only have one path to walk there is no point in hesitating."

"Even if it's an evil path?" She had something playful in her voice.

"Giving up would mean that everything I've done this far would be in vain. I won't back off just because everything isn't sunshine and happy bunnies anymore. I've passed the point of no return; I did it so long ago that I can't even remember how it looked. I can only go forward." Negi closed his eyes and leaned backwards. He then felt how the back of his head hit Evangeline's chest; some part of him wanted to tear away his head and apologize but he didn't for some reason.

"You think it's a matter of fate?" Evangeline started to rub his temples.

"Perhaps… A fate I ended up with because of what I went through."

"Tell me all about it." Evangeline smirked. She looked at the face below her. It was flawless.

"You if anyone understands what I mean, Kotaro does too; Asuna doesn't." Negi said, "I'm going to cut her off from this."

"She'll hate you." Evangeline said she ran a hand through his hair; it was soft as silk.

"Perhaps it is for the best. That might lessen her sadness when I'm gone. It's kind of ridiculous isn't it? I'm planning to save her but at the same time I try to get her out of my hair."

"Life is like that." Evangeline's hands traveled across his face, his skin was soft, unblemished, like that of an angel. She leaned forwards and kissed him softly. His eyes opened with a quizzical look in them. "Come." Evangeline said and lead him out of the library up to the main building. She walked out on the floor in one of the larger rooms and clapped her hands. Music came out of nowhere. Strings and piano played an ancient tune. Soft, seemingly mournful music flowed through the room.

Evangeline turned to him and held out a hand. "Come, dance with me." She said. Negi walked out on the floor and took her hands. They started slowly dancing through the room. Evangeline's graceful steps made her almost float over the floor. Negi moved without thinking as his feet mirrored hers and together they danced as the artificial sun set in the sanctum.

"You are skilled bōya."

"I'm a swift learner."

Evangeline smile slightly and leaned in putting her head on his shoulder. Her body pressed against his and he felt her generous curves. Surprisingly enough her beautiful body was warm. Negi lifted a hand to her head and stroked her hair. She truly was beautiful. To be cursed to forever being denied the beauty maturity would bring must have been so hard for her. He felt sympathy for the woman who, in her entire life, had been condemned to childhood. As they made a slow spin he wondered how things could have been. For a few seconds he actually desired her, not in a carnal way but to be with, her, hold her, be with the woman that was under her mask of ice.

She really was strong to, even after centuries, be able to let him in this deep.

He smiled as he made a sudden spin and leaned her backward.

"Want to get serious?" He asked with a challenging smile.

"You can't possibly hope to keep up." Evangeline looked intensely at him. Her emerald eyes had something expectant in them.

"Try me." Negi tore her up and moved into the starting position. Evangeline removed her hands from him and held them up between the two of them. The pale, delicate hands met thrice and the music shifted. A quicker, more intense tune began. They started dancing again. The steps that once had been slow and careful became swift and passionate. They spun around having to tighten their grips on each other in order to not lose them. Through the room they danced, the wild song calling out to them, begging them to lose themselves in it. They neared the end of the room, which also was the edge of the platform. Negi looked upon the vampiress with a playful look on his face; suddenly he stepped over the edge and pulled her with him.

They should have fallen. They should have crashed into the water. Their bodies smashing against the cliffs and eventually float up on the shore, unmoving. But they didn't. Their magic held them afloat and their dance continued through the air. Onwards and upwards they danced. Above the sea, over the beach and the buildings. If anyone had borne witness to their dance it would have seemed like the dance of the gods. But the two danced through the air, the wild music continuing, without any onlookers. After god knows how long they were back where they started. They were moving in a blur, too swift for the naked eye to see. Then the music stopped and they abruptly halted. They stood close to each other, their faces only inches apart.

"You kept up." Evangeline said; a serious look on her flawless face.

"I told you I was a quick learner." Negi said.

"But is it more than you?" Evangeline asked with an eyebrow raised.

Negi then crashed his lips down on hers. He forced her mouth open as his tongue snaked into hers. The vampiress immediately rose to the challenge. She pulled him backwards towards one of the pillars where his body pressed hers towards the hard marble. She marveled at his skill. Centuries of life had taught her to master the art of seduction, both bodily and mentally, but his lips and tongue were more skilled than anything she had ever experienced. It was unreal. Negi's hands roved across her and set her on fire. His mouth moved to her throat and made her gasp as her vision became blurry due to the sensations it created.

"F-first time b-bōya…?" She whispered as she clenched her arms around him, _"So good…"_

"Yes." Negi's mouth left her neck only for enough time to answer her question before it returned to its task. Evangeline gritted her teeth and pushed him off her. Her body begged her to let him continue, to let him make her moan in ecstasy, but she regained her composure and fired off a smirk towards him.

"They I suggest you go and try to seduce some other girl, some ignorant brat that won't realize how pathetic you are, besides;" she nodded sideways towards the rising sun, "time's up."

"I'll be back tomorrow then." Negi turned around and walked away towards the exit.

Evangeline looked after the boy as he left the sanctum. Her guess was correct and it didn't make her happy. Without intending it she left the glamour and once again her body became the child it was trapped in. She walked towards the bathroom. Her clothes seemingly ran off her body and she got into the water. She summoned her servants.

"Yes mistress?" one of the dolls said.

"I need you to go to the library and gather up everything I have on the incarnae, slave-runes, advanced demon-summoning and tainted magic. They are to be put in the study. It has to be done before tomorrow. And fetch me some wine."

"Yes mistress." One of the dolls left and another took out a bottle.

_"You play the most dangerous game there is bōya." _The servant poured up a glass of red wine for her. _"Better be prepared to deal with the consequences."_ She thought as she took a sip of it.

* * *

A/N: And thus the Kyoto arc truly ends. Now the third and final arc of this story will commence. Not the "Chao" arc but the "Darkness" arc. From here on the story will be different, you have been warned. 

Other than that there isn't really too much I have to say other than the third and final clue to Wilhelm's real name.

This demon was responsible for tormenting the sinners of hell in the book "Inferno". To aid him in this he had several underlings. One of these we have already met.


	31. The Journey and what it caused

**Chapter 30: The Journey and what it caused **

* * *

Golden week drew nearer and with it Negi's planned journey to the temple. The days proceeded in relative calm, Negi couldn't help but feeling it was the calm before the storm, and he was able to focus on his work. All was not good however. He had said several times that he was going to cut Asuna off from his work but he couldn't.

Asuna was devoted to aiding him. She was stubborn like few and wouldn't accept that he just said "thanks and goodbye". She was too much like him in that aspect. He wouldn't allow anyone to stop him from walking his path either. But in the end things had gotten too dark for him to allow her to continue being involved. He didn't know how much Evangeline had understood but she had at least gotten part of it.

Why had he given the dark evangel those clues? He wasn't sure actually. He had gone on gut instinct and dropped those hints for her. She had noticed them and obviously understood a lot. When he had returned the next day he had found dozens of books in the study. Many of them had been books he would have great use for and most of the others were books he had been hoping he'd not have to use but probably would be forced to anyway.

A few days before golden week would begin Negi received a message on his cell phone.

"K, Y and B secured, N will be taken care of within one week. Estimated return to J in ten days."

* * *

"Did he answer your message?" Tsukuyomi asked from under the sunshade as she licked on her ice cream. She had been ecstatic to find a place that sold ice-cream and immediately had bough the biggest they could offer. To the average onlooker they would have looked like a teenage couple on vacation. Tsukuyomi was decked out in a straw-hat, a t-shirt and tight shorts, her Kodachi hidden in her backpack. Fate was dressed in radically different clothes and wore attire that made him look like a Bedouin. The sun didn't show any mercy on his white skin and he had covered every part of himself in white cloth. 

"Why should he?" Fate asked. Even if he recognized her skill the bouncy girl irritated him, she seemed to spend her entire life on a sugar high.

"Its common courtesy you know." She said as they headed for the outskirts of the small village. "If someone sends you a message you should let them know that you got it."

"Do you have so little faith in modern technology that you need proof that the transmission succeeded?" Fate asked her, already knowing where this would lead.

Tsukuyomi rolled her eyes, as cute as Fate was he was such a bore! "No it's about courtesy."

"I don't believe our master is overly concerned about such things."

"Now you're doing that again!" Tsukuyomi complained. "Stop calling Negi-senpai master."

"It's about courtesy." Fate said calmly. Tsukuyomi stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

"One point for you whitey." She pressed forth when she had caught her breath again. Fate raised an eyebrow.

"I wasn't aware that this was a competition."

"Phooey. You just lost it for being so boring." Tsukuyomi said.

"Next time inform me of the rules before starting gaming sessions that I'm involved in. I was under the impression that if you are to play games it must be consensual."

"Aw, come on whitey." Tsukuyomi was ready to pound her head into a wall from the frustration. How could anyone be so boring? "Can't you understand any jokes?"

"No." Fate said, "Humor is something I've never understood."

"What? You were born as Mr. I-am-made-out-of-ice?"

Fate suddenly hesitated. "…More or less." he said quietly. Tsukuyomi looked at him. What was that? Had the iceman just hesitated?

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice having shifted from its usual teasing tone to a much gentler one.

"Emotions are the domain of humans." Fate said quietly, "Enough of this," he raised his voice again; "we must reach the ruins by nightfall." They now stood outside the village. Fate lifted his hands and started chanting in ancient Greek. "Vish Tal Li Shutal Vangate. Rise, sand of the desert. Gather to me and raise me into the air. Send me swiftly forth to my destination. Chariot of Earth." The ground beneath them rose into the air and dashed forward. Tsukuyomi almost fell off from the winds and her ice cream flew away. The young girl looked after her ice-cream for a few seconds before turning towards Fate with a thunderous expression on her face.

"Hey you jerk!" She yelled, "Could you at least give me a warning before doing these things?"

"I incanted, that should have been enough warning." Fate answered.

"Well it isn't! As far as I knew it could have been a spell to…" She tried to come up with something, "to summon sausages!"

"Sausages?" Fate lifted an eyebrow.

Tsukuyomi gritted her teeth. "I meant that I don't know what your creepy magic does! I don't speak Greek remember?"

"Point taken," Fate admitted, "I will warn you next time."

"Gee, thanks."

* * *

The platform dashed forward through the desert for hours. Tsukuyomi had gotten bored after ten minutes however and had started to pester him incessantly, there were not too much else you could do on a twenty square meter large plateau. She had prattled about everything between heaven and earth and Fate felt how the muscles in his jaw tightened. He had tried to read one of his books but Tsukuyomi made it impossible. He considered turning her into stone to get some quiet before he realized what he was thinking. 

"Hey whiteeey…?" Tsukuyomi asked for the umpteenth time.

"What?!" Fate snapped. Tsukuyomi blinked.

"Whoa…"

"What?" Fate repeated.

"You actually raised your voice… I've never heard that before."

"Do you find it strange that enduring six hours of your prattling makes me irritated?" Fate snapped.

Tsukuyomi blinked again before she started to giggle. She giggled so hard that she fell on her back. Fate stared at her. She was insane; there was no other explanation. He had gotten paired up with an insane girl.

"You know…" Tsukuyomi managed to sit up again and smiled at him. "You're really cute when you're angry. I'll have to make you angry again sometime."

Fate opened and closed his mouth several times, looking like a fish, before he turned away from her and dived into the book again. Tsukuyomi started laughing openly at the white-haired boy who tried to shut out the sound of her laughing. Fate found himself longing for the platform to reach its destination.

* * *

Their destination was an ancient city deep in the desert. It was one of the remains of the kingdom of Atlantis, a large trading outpost on the mainland that eventually had become a city. It had been the first city to fall when Thanata had destroyed Atlantis. According to Negi this city had had a large university dedicated to, amongst other things, necromancy. It was a highly probable location for the cursed jewels Negi needed. 

The two travelers had set up camp at the outskirts of the city and would venture into the ruins at dawn. Fate formed a dome of sand that would serve as tent and created two beds out of plants. They had decided to travel as lightly as possible for the sake of speed. The earth and water magic of the Turkish mage had been a great boon to them as he could create shelter and summon water easily. The only thing they had to bring was food. They were currently preparing a dinner consisting of travel rations.

"Wow…" Tsukuyomi said, "Travel rations, guaranteed to not taste anything and make you not wanting more. Ever… At least the view is nice though." She referred to the countless stars that twinkled above them.

"…" Fate decided to keep quiet. Saying anything would only make the hyperactive swordswoman try to get into a better mood by teasing him. Normally he wouldn't care but seeing as how they were stuck with each other for at least another week he tried to avoid giving her any more reason to bother him than she already had.

"Hey Fate?" the girl asked after a while. She seemed unusually subdued.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"What did you mean with that thing you said about emotions being the domain of humans?"

Fate had hoped she wouldn't have asked that.

"That is nothing you need to be concerned with." He said eventually. "My past is of no concern to you."

"Perhaps, but I still want to know." She said, "You sound like it's something pretty bad and it usually helps to talk about it."

"And why are you concerned with what my past?" Fate looked at her. He didn't like talking about these things.

"Because you're my friend!" Tsukuyomi said, "What did you think?"

"Friend?" Fate looked at her.

"Yes, friend." Tsukuyomi repeated, "You know what a friend is, don't you?"

A series of images flashed by in Fate's head. Memories of how he looked down at the streets of Istanbul from his window watching small kids playing. Memories of how one of the mages at the temple in Kyoto had tried to hold him back when he attacked screaming that he would never let him get his friends. Memories of how Kotaro and Negi had been bickering about something.

"Yes…" Fate said eventually, "I know what it is…"

* * *

Negi felt the energy crackling through him as he finished the chanting and completed the spell. The magic rushed through the sanctum in a maelstrom of energy. He had been working non-stop for ten hours and was exhausted as he sunk down to his knees. He got up after a second and walked over to the table where his components lay. The refining processes had been taken care of and he could soon begin preparing the circle.

* * *

Kotaro was sitting on a branch of the World Tree looking out across Mahora. The day after tomorrow they would head out to the temple. The hanyō was shivering in excitement. What Negi had told him had made the temple sound like ten kinds of awesome. Kotaro flexed his muscles and decided to do some exercises to see where his limit was. He disappeared from the branch as he made a giant leap to the rooftops. 

Racing across the roofs of Mahora he grinned. He could learn to like this place. It was perfect for quick movement across the roofs, had lots of dark corners and secret places. Now if only some of the creatures from Aokigahara could come here it would be great. Some Firewyrms perhaps, or Devourer Ogres, ogres were fun. No, Skindancers! The sadistic shapeshifters would put the entire place in a state of panic and there would be no way to know whom that was human and whom that was a demon wearing your friend's skin and was out for your blood. Just the way he preferred it. Wouldn't happen though. The humans would wipe them out and in the process decide that all supernatural beings deadlier than a fly should be exterminated.

That was the most sickening thing about humans. They were so disgustingly afraid of death. Amongst the inugami death was the end, yes, but they didn't squeal like terrified pigs when it drew near. Death was just simple bad luck. It wasn't anything to go batshit about and it was definitely not logical to the inugami that you should wipe out an entire species just because one member of it snuffed someone you liked. He remembered in his childhood how his mother had been killed by a raging mob when a dire wolf had killed a farm girl.

Where was the logic in that? His mother had been killed because she had been fucked by an inugami and given birth to a hanyō in the same village where a tainted wolf killed someone. That was humanity in a nutshell. He had gotten them in the end though. The seal that kept his powers suppressed, courtesy of his mother, had been overpowered by his anger and he had, only five years old, killed them all. He had been baptized in blood and death and that was his craft now.

The hanyō stopped on a rooftop and pulled up his t-shirt. The seal was visible like a series of black kanji in a circle around his navel. His mom had said that it stopped something bad in him from getting out. Made sense in a way. When he became fully inugami he was bloodthirsty like hell.

Negi had guessed that when the seal broke it was because his anger called to his nature as an inugami too much to be denied and for a while he became a full inugami. He would only be able to stay in that state until his anger abated and then the seal would take effect again.

As it was now though he could overpower it with mere willpower. He had managed to take control of it in the forest of death. He had run into another problem then however; his body was too weak to handle the inugami energies and would burn itself out after a while. He could only remain as an inugami for about ten minutes before his body started to be consumed by the energies. Kotaro didn't complain though. After all, humans were the only species that could use ki. His inugami powers were limited by his heritage but in return he gained the powers of man.

Fair trade he supposed.

He then noticed one of the more irritating persons in this place. The sword-chick Setsuna. A hanyō like he, she was a paragon of many things that he despised. The view that being a hanyō made you something lesser, slavish adhering to moronic rules, stiffness, holier-than-thou attitude and hypocrisy. There were many things to hate about her. Kinda a pity that she had to be such a fucking moron, she didn't look too bad. She may now have the awesome figure of some of her classmates but her muscles were real and gave her a strength evident in how she walked, Her eyes were nice too when they weren't busy looking at him like he was a rabid dog.

He watched as she walked across the streets, she was coming from that school buildings and was heading for the dorms. She seemed to have noticed him as she tensed and sped up. Of course, he had forgotten that being what he was made him a raging beast and now she had to run home and protect her beloved Konoka. Wasn't homosexuality something the samurai was supposed to condemn by the way? It was kind of funny to see how Setsuna kept calling that ditzy girl ojou-sama and acted all submissive to her.

He never would have pegged her to be an uke.

The thought made Kotaro snicker; he pictured Setsuna in a bondage outfit with her hands bound behind her back and Konoka standing over her with a whip in her hand.

_Kotaro's imagination:_

_"You have been a bad girl Se-chan. A very bad girl." Konoka said as she fingered the whip._

_"I'm sorry ojou-sama!" Setsuna whimpered. "I won't do it again, I swear!"_

_"Quiet!" Konoka snapped as she cracked the whip at Setsuna's back. "Do you know what I do with bad girls Se-chan?" She continued in a voice as sweet as honey. "I punish them." With that, she raised the whip again and cracked it against Setsuna's back._

_"Ah!…" Setsuna gasped as the whip struck her, "O-ojou-sama, Ah! P-punish me! I… I'm a. Ah! B-bad person. P-punish me!"_

_End of Kotaro's imagination:_

The hanyō couldn't keep a straight face anymore and started howling with laughter as he imagined Setsuna like that. He had to lean against a chimney as his legs threatened to give way under him. The samurai then disappeared around a corner and Kotaro grinned as he dashed after her. He wasn't done with her. Not by a long shot.

He landed on a tree branch in one of the small parks and looked after her. She had noticed his ki and was looking in his direction. Kotaro stayed hidden though. The thrill of the hunt was too good to let her get off the hook that easily. Hiding amongst the trees he slowly moved up her side. He was behind the bushes now, only ten meters away from her. He could be upon her and kill within a heartbeat. She now gripped the sword tightly in her hand, her body lowering itself into a combat stance. Kotaro quietly walked to the left, following the end of the bushes. She would be ready. He had to get an advantage.

He felt the smell of her sweat; she must have been training, and her wariness. Her eyes narrowed and suddenly she burst into motion against him and Kotaro backed off. That move was not what he had expected. As she crashed through the bushes Kotaro had to fight to suppress his instincts that told him to attack head on. When Setsuna landed in front of him he stood calmly leaning against a tree.

"Yo." He said looking at her.

"Why are you following me?!" She demanded. Kotaro feigned a look of innocence.

"What'chu talkin' 'bout." He asked. Setsuna's eyes narrowed.

"I told you in Kyoto that you can't fool me! I know that you are up to something and I keep my eyes on you."

"Cool… Alawys nice t' hear that girls watch you but I kinda figured your heart belonged t' Konoka."

"Wha… I… you… no!" Setsuna sputtered.

"'Ey, 'ey." Kotaro said, "I'm cool with it, whatever floats your boat."

"That's not what I mean you despicable pervert!"

"Nice," Kotaro continued; this was awesome! "You figured out a new insult. Let's play a game. You couldn't use your last insult on me 'cause you're one too. Let's see if this one's different. I mean, you date th' girl you're s'pposed t' guard after all an' far as I know samurai are supposed t' see that stuff as perverted. So that one fails too. You're gettin' more and like me Se-chan. Come on. Come up with another, this was fun." Kotaro was having the time of his life.

Setsuna saw red. She was about to charge him but forced herself to calm down. She couldn't sink to his level.

"Mock me as much as you want to but in the end there is one thing that makes me different from you." She said trying to remain calm, "I know that I'm a monster and I spend every second of my life atoning for that. You revel in it and view your cursed blood as something to be proud of."

Kotaro felt the amusement leave him. It was quickly replaced with anger.

"For fuck's…" He dashed forward and pinned her against a tree with one arm and disarmed her with the other. "Why?!" He roared. "Why do you keep calling yourself a monster, who told you that you were one?! I'll tell you that! Those who told you that were a bunch o' stupid dickheads! Why do you swallow their crap?! What do you owe those pieces of shit?! You're pathetic! How could someone like you ever cut my face?! How could I think that th' girl who did that was someone strong?!"

"Shut up!" Setsuna hissed," You don't understand anything!"

"What ain't I understandin'?! Bein' abandoned? Bein' seen as something lesser cause you ain't what they call "pure"? Havin' t' live with knowin' you ain't got no home?! I get it perfectly you little bitch! I'm a freakin' orphan too! Th' people in my hometown tried t' gut me when they found out 'bout me! Th' only ones who ever bothered with seein' me as a person are Negi an' old man Norihisa! Everyone else has called me a mongrel, a freak! But I ain't never going to ever apologize for that! Why do you keep on doing that?! Fuck those shits! You ain't owing them nothing! Be proud over what you are for fuck's sake!"

"How?" Setsuna was having tears in her eyes, "How do I live proudly if I have to see a monster every time I look in the mirror?!"

"You even listenin'? The only thing that says that's something t' care 'bout are th' idiots that threw you out! You ain't owing them nothing so why listen?! That's why I hate you samurai! You always obey without using your own head! I'm a half-dog but you are a freaking full blood lapdog! What happened t' your own will?! Where did you drop it?! Ain't there nothing you can decide for yourself?! Your arms, your body, your heart, they are movin' of your own will! Get rid of that part of you that still believes in their bullshit an' make your own destiny! If they say you can't 'cause they don't like your wings then you kill them and follow your own path! Make your own life for fuck's sake!"

Kotaro dropped her and she sunk down to the ground. The hanyō turned away and started walking away. Then he stopped and looked back. "You're th' only one t' ever cut my face, I ain't never gonna accept that someone who can do that cowers in front of th' rules of idiots." With that, he left.

* * *

A scream echoed through the sanctum. Negi felt the backlash tear into him and making him go numb. He stayed on his feet but swayed slightly. 

"Damn it…" He thought; the whole thing just didn't work. He tried to get to the table again but fell to his knees. Suddenly he felt so weak. He was tired, thirsty and hungry; he had a murderous headache and felt cold as ice. But he couldn't stop. He had to go on with the process. It was then that he felt a blanket being draped across his shoulders. When he looked up he saw Chachamaru kneeling beside him.

"You are killing yourself sensei." She said softly, "The strain on you is too great. You'll burn yourself out; perhaps kill yourself, if this keeps up."

"I know…" Negi said dispassionately as he got to his feet again. "I will die… but not until I'm finished." He hobbled towards the table, Chachamaru supporting him.

"What do you mean sensei?" Chachamaru seemed unnerved by his statement.

"I mean that one way or another I will die," Negi answered dispassionately, "my life is forfeit and has been since I was tainted. There is no reason to try to avoid burning myself out. It will be at least a few weeks before the damages become permanent and I will be done by then. Done and dead." He finished grimly.

* * *

The two young men leapt between the tree branches towards their destination. They had set out from Mahora early that dawn and would reach their destination the same evening. 

"Ey Negi?" Kotaro spoke up. "What else do you know 'bout this temple?"

"It's an ancient building." Negi answered, "It was actually built over three thousand years ago. Japan wasn't even civilized then. It was a group of mystics that fled the Chinese empire due to a great conflict amongst the empire's mages. They built this temple and tricked the locals into believing that they were gods. As time progressed they became more and more cruel and demanding, eventually the locals petitioned their other gods for deliverance from them. It came in the form of the first onmyou wizards. The spirits who would become the gods of the Shinto religion showed a group of people how to summon spirits and use talismans. They managed to destroy the mystics with these powers. Afterwards they sealed off the temple and left it to rot."

"Seals huh?" Kotaro said, "Hope you know how t' break 'em."

"Don't worry; these seals will be primitive. I don't expect the first bumbling sealing attempts of the Japanese summoners to give us any problems."

"By th' way, you said they were destroyed, but doesn't that mean th' spirits shoulda been taken care off already?"

"No." Negi said, "The onmyou wizards never managed to enter the inner sanctum, the mystics were arrogant enough to leave the temple and fight them outside and when it all was over the Japanese mages didn't dare to go into the main temple."

"Ok, cool…"

"From what I have seen it will be quite powerful defenses. I will expect you to go all out, you hear me? No messing around." Negi's voice was suddenly sharp and commanding. Kotaro narrowed his eyes.

"Ey can it mister high an' mighty." He said, "I told ya I was gonna help ya. No need t' get that pissy 'bout it."

Negi stopped on a branch and dashed backwards. Before Kotaro could react he was pinned to a tree, Negi's hand in an iron grip around his throat.

"Don't talk back to me." Negi said impassively, "Can I trust you or not?"

"Hey what th' fu…gack!" Negi's hand clenched around his throat, it was getting hard to breathe.

"Answer my question!" Negi snapped, "I have no room for those that can't remain serious on this."

Kotaro was a proud individual. He never accepted that anyone belittled or attacked him but in Negi's eyes he saw something he never had seen there before. In the eyes of the guy he knew as a polite and intellectual guy he saw the glint of a predator. Negi's eyes held no hesitation, no remorse and no fear. It was eyes that dared Kotaro to defy him, eyes that promised swift pain if he didn't obey. Negi looked upon him with the mixture in contempt and anger that the alpha felt when the foolish omega dared to challenge him for the position as the leader.

Kotaro recognized a superior predator when he saw one.

"I…I'll be serious," he pressed forth between clenched teeth, "I… I promise." Negi let him go.

"Good, now move, we'll have to get there before twilight." With that, the mage dashed off again. Kotaro followed him and remained just behind him. For a while he had an unreadable expression on his face but eventually it shifted into a small smile

For some reason he was happy over what Negi had done. After a few seconds he realized why.

A predator only follows a superior predator. Now he was truly content with following Negi.

* * *

"We're here." Negi said as the large building came into view in the distance, "There's the temple. We'll camp here. Throw up the tent and I'll make some food." He told Kotaro who took off his backpack and took out the tent. When they were done they sat around the campfire in silence. Negi eventually broke it. 

"How good are you with the shadow-clone technique nowadays?"

"I can at most make thirty of 'em. Six if I want 'em t' be fully solid." Kotaro answered as he munched on a piece of meat.

"Good, expect to make heavy use of it tomorrow…"

"'Ey Negi." Kotaro said after a moment. "Did you ever tell Asuna you ain't needin' her no more?"

Negi didn't answer.

"Oh for fuck's… Seriously man, you're loosin' my respect here. Wasn't it you who said you were gonna cut her off?"

"Zip it Kotaro" Negi said, "It's none of your concern anyway."

"Well I'm gonna make it my concern. You're getting…"

"I said zip it!" Negi's eyes turned predatory again. Kotaro instinctively closed his mouth. The rest of the evening passed in silence.

* * *

"Right!" Kotaro said as he stretched himself taking deep breaths of the chilly morning air, the mists were retreating and the sun filtered through the trees, all in all it was a beautiful morning, the half-inugami decided to get out here again. "Let's get cracking then!" 

"Just remember the plan, in and out, nothing more." Negi said as they approached the gates to the temple. It was a classic pagoda with high walls around it and it was in extremely good shape considering its age. The mystics had obviously used magic to ensure that it would remain in good shape forever. That spoke of power. The gates were open but Negi felt the barrier around it. He cautiously reached out and quickly pulled back his hand when he touched the barrier and received a sharp jolt.

"Seals of the Thunder-god, Raiden," He said. "This will be interesting." He brought his hands together and started to chant in ancient Greek. "Great Zeus. Master of heaven's wrath. I call upon thee to break the barriers. Shatter, break and sunder the signs of divine fire. Shattering the thunder seals!" The barrier flared for a second before dissipating. "Piece of cake." Negi said and they entered the courtyard. Even if the building was in good shape the gardens around it were just as rampant as one could expect after not having been tended for millennia. The original plants were still there, the barrier seemingly having stopped any of the natural vegetation of the area to enter. Kotaro grinned at this as he took an orange from one of the trees.

"Hey, nice…" He said as he peeled it, "Want half?"

"No thanks…" Negi said, Kotaro shrugged and stuffed several pieces of the orange into his mouth, normally he wasn't much for fruit but sun-warmed orange was awesome. As they entered the main building Kotaro started to sniff. "Smells like… yeah… the place's filled with spirits. Dragon spirits… Lead th' way, they'll notice us soon." He tossed the peels away and cracked his knuckles.

* * *

When they had descended the stairs to the cellars they suddenly heard the hissing of a million serpents. The air started swirling and the vague outlines of small deformed dragons appeared as the spirits materialized. They slithered slowly through the air, hundreds of them, their heads turned towards them. Negi noticed a line on the floor. It had to be the edge of the warded zone. If he'd pass it the guardians would attack _en masse._

"Woo, they're ugly." Kotaro commented

"Let's go." Negi said.

They both exploded into motion as they dashed past the guardians and deeper inside the temple. The guardians started to roar and gave chase with lightning speed. Countless spirits appeared and dashed towards them. They ran deeper and deeper into the temple. It was an amazing building. The mystics must have brought all they had along with them; the building was just as opulent as the imperial palace must have been at the time. When they dashed through the library Negi realized that most of their scriptures were still intact. Those scriptures would be worth a fortune… He cleared his head of that thought and focused on the task at hand. The air was saturated with magic. But it was still not enough. Just a little more and it would be perfect. Just a little more… Just a little more… Suddenly he stopped.

"We're here! Keep them off me!" He roared, "I need thirty minutes!" Kotaro turned on a dime and split into thirty shadow-clones as he charged the guardians. The inugami howled as he started to tear apart the spirits.

Negi swiftly drew a magic circle on the floor, put the magic gems in the middle and started to chant. The rest of the world seemed to fade away as he started to drain the area of its magic and put it in the gems. He would need at least five gems for it to work.

* * *

Kotaro was exhausted, he was bleeding from countless small cuts, his ki was dangerously low, he couldn't summon any wolf-spirits since they refused to enter dragon-spirit territory and he had lost all his shadow-clones. 

Yet… this was where he was as happiest. He made another lunge and let his claws tear apart the bodies of another six spirits. These things were as frail as rice-paper and went down after only one hit but they made up for it in quantity. They were everywhere and unbleached a large claw of chi against one group of them. Another swarm of them approached, this time they were packed tightly together and came at him as one giant serpent.

He focused and when they reached him his claws started to move in a blur, the death-shrieks of the spirits was like the sound of a roaring current and when his claws stopped swinging the air around him was filled with wisps of smoke, the only trace these things left when they died. His back suddenly exploded in pain as one of the spirits tore into it, the pain whipped him into a frenzy and he spun around tearing the being to shreds. The spirits were still coming and he realized he had to get some distance.

"Inugami-ryu." He intoned, "Wolf-Fang Storm!" His ki materialized as countless tiny claws that spun around him like a hurricane. The death-cries of the guardians nearly deafened him but it didn't change anything, the remainder still came at him. It was then that he heard how Negi had fallen silent and a blinding flash erupted behind the inugami. The light momentarily stunned the spirits and Kotaro looked behind him. Negi had summoned his staff and was chanting furiously.

"Rastel Mascir Magister. A stream of light to cut through the darkness, spring forth from my hand and throttle my enemy, White lightning!" But the lightning the leaped from his fingers and cut into the spirits wasn't white, but red. And it was way more powerful than Kotaro remembered; it was then that he felt the disgusting reek that had accompanied the spell. The spirits felt it too and they actually faltered for a second.

"I got it! Run!" Negi screamed and they both jumped through the hole in the spirits' ranks that had appeared. The guardians eventually gave chase again and now they came from every direction. Negi fired his spells in all directions to keep them away, every spell saturated with the stench of taint. Suddenly Kotaro heard a rumbling sound. Negi's dark magic had hit the roof and made it unstable. Before they could react the ceiling caved in.

* * *

_"Where is that baka Negi?!"_ Asuna wondered. She had woken up the previous day to find that he was gone. She had tried to call him but he had left his cell-phone behind. She had looked everywhere, even gone to Evangeline's cabin, but he had seemingly vanished. She was walking home when her mind suddenly was bombarded with noise. 

_"Asuna!"_ Negi's voice roared in her head, _"Get clear! Get somewhere where people can't see you! Hurry!"_ Asuna jerked when she heard the voice and after a moment's hesitation she started to run. She dashed down the stairs towards the forest surrounding Evangeline's cottage. When she rounded a corner she nearly collided with Setsuna and Konoka but managed to dodge them in the last moments.

"Asuna-chan?" Konoka asked, "What's the matter?"

"No time!" She yelled and darted past them. Setsuna and Konoka looked after her for a second before running after her.

When reaching the forest she hurried to a small glen she knew of and well there she took out her card and held it towards her forehead.

_"I'm clear!"_

_"G… gah! Good!"_ Then a blinding flash drenched the glen in light as Kotaro and Negi appeared. Asuna gasped when she saw them. Negi and Kotaro were both covered in small wounds, their clothes were nearly torn to shreds and in several places the wounds were deep enough to let the blood flow freely. They were both on their knees gasping for air and seemed exhausted.

"Fuckin' a!" Kotaro exclaimed, "Next time… I'll pass on… this shit…"

"Next time… I'll personally… make sure… there is no next time!" Negi countered. "I'm just glad I… managed to… reverse the contract's… summoning ability and… get us out of there."

"By the kami…" Setsuna said; both she and Konoka had now caught up with Asuna and saw them, "What has happened to you?"

"A lil' expedition gone bad…" Kotaro said before groaning and putting his hand on his stomach where he had a deep wound. "Yo Konoka-chan? Mind doin' some healin' stuff 'ere?"

Konoka had paled at the sight of the two bloodied boys but nodded and walked up to Kotaro, she took out the practice wand Negi had given her and focused. Negi looked at her and started to talk to her.

"Focus on gathering the magic to you…" he said calmly, "just as I showed you, shape it by picturing it as the essence of life, force that shape unto the magic, and release!" a white light came from Konoka as Kotaro's wounds healed in the matter of seconds. Konoka turned to Negi and repeated the process. When they both were healed they got to their feet. It was then that Asuna spoke up.

"So…" she said; her voice cold as ice, "You just walk off and try to get yourself killed? Is there any reason why I wasn't told?"

"Is there any reason I should have?" Negi asked looking at her dispassionately.

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't see any reason to involve you. These things are none of your business. "

"None of my…?" Asuna was furious now, "So now I'm not a part of your precious world?! How can you say that?! After everything we've been through!" She stomped up to him and grabbed what was left of his shirt. "Not a part huh?! I barely have two minutes for myself and I still take Kendo-lessons from Setsuna to be able to help you!"

"So what?" Negi asked, with a voice cold as ice, before tearing away her hand, grabbing her throat and lifting her off the ground, holding her face at his level. "Let's get a few things clear here Asuna Kagurazaka. I never asked for your help. It was you that waltzed in and demanded to be a part of my world; and I've let you do that because I couldn't wipe your mind. That's all there is to it! And furthermore, what great and incredible favor have you done me that would require me to let you in on everything I do in order to repay you? I'll tell you. Nothing!" He yelled the last word. Asuna grabbed her hand and tried to get loose but Negi's grip was like steel. The others could only stare at the once so polite and calm young man.

"You haven't done anything that would motivate that." He continued, "You have been nothing but a pain to me since day one. Do you realize how much simpler my life would have been if not for you?! Do you realize how much pain you have caused me?! How dare you demand anything of me you bitch?!" With that Negi dropped Asuna, the young man turned around and walked away.

Asuna had fallen to the ground. She looked after Negi as he disappeared into the forest, not moving an inch. Suddenly she got up from the ground and ran away, tears flowing freely down her face.

"Shit…" Kotaro said as he started to go after Negi, "You better go after her, I ain't thinkin' she's takin' this too well." He said as he turned to look back at the two girls.

_"Th' fuck's wrong with you Negi?!"_ He thought to himself.

* * *

It was evening and Setsuna stood outside the dormitories looking at the sunset. Asuna was totally inconsolable and had been crying for hours. Konoka was still up there trying to console the girl who was lying on her bed with her face buried in her pillow but Setsuna had left feeling that she couldn't do anything. She was now leaning against the wall trying to sort out her thoughts. As she stood outside the building Kotaro landed beside her, the half-inugami having leapt from one of the buildings nearby. He looked at her as he rose from the crouched position he had landed in. 

"How's she?" He asked.

"Bad…" Setsuna said, normally she would have snapped at him but her thoughts were still in a jumble. "She's been crying for hours."

Kotaro looked at the building before snarling. "Th' fuck was he thinkin'?!"

Setsuna didn't answer, only looked out across the street. She wondered too that too. The man she had held so much admiration for had suddenly and callously crushed Asuna's heart. She didn't understand anything. "He said something about her having caused him pain. Do you know what he was talking about?" Setsuna asked him.

Kotaro was silent for a few seconds. "Nope, ain't got no idea. I didn't find him." He returned to silence for a while before speaking up. "Yo, tell me if I can do anythin' for 'er."

"Why do you care?" Setsuna voiced the question sharper than she had intended. Kotaro narrowed his eyes at this.

"Oh yeah… I forgot I ain't nothin' but a rabid freak, sorry." Kotaro turned around and was about to walk away when Setsuna spoke up.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean it that way." Normally she wouldn't have cared but what Kotaro had said to her a few days ago still haunted her. Kotaro looked back at her with an eyebrow raised. He stood still a few seconds before shrugging.

"Fine…"

* * *

On the top of the Mahora Chapel clock-tower a lone figure sat in the pale moonlight. Said figure had been sitting there for hours, not moving an inch, staring at the streets. The chaos that raged inside him, however, was in sharp contrast to his unmoving body. His thoughts were mixing, shifting, changing, before his very eyes. In the end he didn't know which that was his anymore. The thoughts that raged through his head, taunted him, telling him what was happening, twisting him. 

Negi Springfield sat on the tower of the church trying to defeat himself. It was as if he was bubbling inside. Like his soul was boiling like pitch. Negi fell through darkness before screaming with light. His screams of purity were raped by filth in front of his eyes. The filth was burned by the flames of peace before hate crushed it. The struggle was beyond human understanding.

Yet… Negi wasn't human anymore; he hadn't been for nearly a month and this both blessed and cursed that mage who fought himself. In the end the unmoving mage blinked.

"So… that's how it will be." His voice, hoarse and tired beyond understanding, said before he fell. Negi's body fell down the side of the tower rushing towards the ground where a grisly demise awaited him. Images flashed by his eyes, Wales, Japan, the village, Nekane, Stan, Anya, the pub, Takamichi, Katsu, the girls in his class, Kotaro, Albiero, 3-A's classroom and finally, Asuna's face appeared in front of him just as he reached the ground.

Then, suddenly, the mage made a swift twist and landed on his feet. After a second he started to walk down the street, his face an unreadable mask.

* * *

**A/N:** In a desperate moment he drew on everything he had and went all out, without intending it he reached straight into the energies he had sworn to avoid using and the effects became terrible. Even with the dark seals the evil remained, only that it twists his mind insted of his heart, that it truly makes him want to do the evil things he does. At this moment one phrase fits better than anything else. "What have I done?" 


	32. Darkness falls

**Chapter 31: Darkness falls**

* * *

It's pretty rare that the students are happy when golden week ends but now the students felt more than a little sad in a few cases. Asuna had been in a state of depression ever since that day, which had also been the last day they had seen Negi. When Asuna and Konoka had awoken the day after they had found Negi's stuff gone and a note in which he thanked them for letting him stay there and told them that he was getting his own room. Konoka had expected Asuna to explode, go after him and drag him back into the room but Asuna hadn't even batted an eye.

The redhead was currently slumping over her desk with a lifeless look at her face staring out of the window not responding to anything despite the other girls' attempts to speak with her. When Negi entered the classroom she briefly looked at him and suddenly it was as if the temperature in the classroom had dropped several degrees. Negi however seemingly ignored this and calmly started the lesson. The atmosphere in the classroom remained cold during the entire lesson and the usual laughs were few and far inbetween.

When the bell was about to ring Negi closed his book with a snap and spoke up.

"Now girls… I have some bad news." He said solemnly. "A few days ago my grandfather died." The girls looked at him with sympathetic gazes at this, "They will bury him next week and I'll have to go back to Wales for a couple of weeks. They are going to open his will and a lot of other things will happen too, so I won't be back in time for the festival."

Now the girls became shocked.

"But sensei…!"

"You can't…!"

"What about…?"

Negi held up a hand and silenced them.

"Sorry girls, I understand that this isn't a popular decision but… sometimes you have to make those. Sometimes you do things that make people angry." Asuna noticed that Negi was looking straight at her. "You let them down, betray their expectations and make them sad. You hate yourself for doing it but it's unavoidable. Sometimes you even have to do such things for the sake of the very people you let down. The thing is; you have to prioritize, what is truly important to you? What things mean so much to you that no matter how much they hate you for it you have to do it? And what I've done, I've done because I know what matters the most, what I'm prepared to die for. I'm sorry, but I had to do it. There is no other way for me to go."

The classroom was silent, Asuna tried to calm down but to no avail. Did Negi say that to her? He must have. But why…? Before she could get her thoughts in any order the ball rang and Negi got up from the desk.

"Goodbye." He said and walked out of the classroom. As the girls left the room Asuna remained in her seat for a while before suddenly dashing out through the door after him. He couldn't have gotten too far .When she got to the stairs she knew that she would catch up with him but the stairs were empty. She hurried down into the corridor. Nothing. She ran outside but there was no sign of him. Where had he gone?! She stood still for a while before she hurried off along the path towards Takahata-sensei's house. He if anyone would know where Negi lived.

* * *

The last item had been retrieved and sent to Negi's apartment. Takamichi took a deep breath as he sat down with his coffee. He had tried to recreate a coffee he had gotten at a diner in Mexico where he had found the item. He took a deep sniff of the aroma and sighed contently. It smelled good and, even more importantly, it smelled like that coffee. He raised the coffee to his lips and was just about to take a sip when the doorbell rung.

He sighed as he got up and walked to the door. When he opened he got a lesser shock; outside his door stood Asuna. She was the last person he'd expect to come and visit. When he noticed her face he quelled the flippant remark he had been about to make. She appeared sad, confused.

"Hi Asuna-kun." He said, "How is it?"

"Where does Negi live?" Asuna asked at the same time. Takamichi blinked.

"Doesn't he live with you?"

"No he moved out a few days ago, I've tried to find him but he's nowhere, you're friends so I thought you would know, please, I have to know..."

"Hey, hey, slow down here." Takamichi tried to stem the flood of words that came from Asuna's mouth. "Why don't you come in and we'll take it from the beginning one thing at a time?" He let Asuna in and got back to the kitchen.

"Care for something to drink?" He asked as she sat down. Asuna nodded; Takamichi poured up a cup of hot water and took out a bag of tea. When he had put the tea in front of her he sat down.

"Now… what did you say has happened? Has Negi moved out?" He said, automatically going int councillor mode.

Asuna nodded. "Yeah we got into this big fight during golden week and he stormed off saying I was a pain to him. The next day all his stuff was gone. But then today he said that he had to go away for a couple of weeks and when everybody realized he'd miss the festival he said that he had to choose what was important to him and what he was prepared to die for and stuff. Thing is… he looked at me when he was saying that stuff and… I think he meant it for me. But when I tried to catch up with him and get him to explain he was gone. Then I thought that you are his friend so you would know where he lived. I need to see him."

Takamichi blinked again. It sure seemed to have happened quite a lot since he last checked up on them.

"So… He said you were a pain?" Asuna's ex-teacher decided to start from the beginning.

"Yeah, he said that I had caused him too much pain for me to demand anything from him."

_"God damn it…"_ This was not good. Had Negi gotten tired of trying to assemble the ritual?

"And then he moved out?"

"Yeah."

"And… what did he say in class today?"

"That he had to do it, that he didn't like doing it but that he knew what was important to him."

"I see…" Takamichi didn't understand a thing. He had thought he knew what Negi felt and wanted but he obviously didn't know anything about the young prodigy's goals. "Tell you what Asuna-kun." He said to the young girl who had a forlorn look on her face. "I don't know where he lives now but I promise that I'll speak with him about this and ask him to give you an explanation, you do deserve one. Is that ok?"

"Yeah…" Asuna smiled slightly. "Thanks Takahata-sensei." It was then that Takamichi's cell phone started to ring. The man sighed as he took it out and answered.

"Takamichi… Hi… Why…? What…? Are you serious...? I'll be there at once… Bye." He shut the phone with a grim look on his face. "I must go, there's an emergency meeting for the teachers. But I promise that I'll get hold of him for you."

"Ok…" Asuna got up and left the house. Takamichi took one last look at his coffee and sighed before leaving it on the table.

* * *

The meeting was held in a warehouse on the outskirts of Mahora. There were indeed quite a lot of teachers there but not all of them. This, you see, wasn't a staff meeting. It was a meeting for the wizards of Mahora. The headmaster was standing in front of the assembled wizards and beside him was an overhead projector.

"Perhaps you all wonder why I have gathered you here." the headmaster begun when everybody had come. "You are here because of this." He turned on the overhead projector and the assembled crowd gasped at the sight. It was a picture of an old man with white hair and wrinkled face. But what had captured the crowd's attention was the fact that he was obviously dead, or rather, the way he had died. A black, barbed, tentacle had wrapped itself around his throat and he now hung from the ceiling. His chest was pierced by long black spikes and his heart was carved out. Those with enough knowledge to see it could tell that the man must have suffered immensely before he died. The headmaster spoke up again.

"This man, a janitor at the university, was found like this yesterday. Teachers of Mahora." He said gravely, "We have a dark mage on the loose. I have already contacted the God's Cry who has agreed to send some of their best to aid us chasing down this villain and if anyone here has any clues then speak up. We have to capture this person before the festival, when it starts he will be able hide in the chaos and cause immense amounts of destruction unless we find and capture him. Tokou-sensei and Gandolfini-sensei will be the ones to organize the chase for the dark mage. For the rest of you I'll ask you to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and report to them if you find anything. And the most important thing, don't let the students know that there is a murderous madman on the loose, it would create mass-panic."

As Takamichi walked out of the room he swore to himself. Things were just getting worse and worse. Seruhiko came up beside him.

"This is getting really troublesome," The young man said, "The entire year has been filled with incidents. It kind of makes you wonder what will happen next, arch-demons in the streets or what?"

* * *

The man looked into his scrying-orb and chuckled slowly, if they only knew… He pocketed the orb in his black trench-coat; put on his hat and teleported away, so much to do, so much to do…

* * *

Kotaro was getting antsy. Negi had been gone for a week now and he was bored out of his mind. The yellow-eyed young man was so incredibly tired of Mahora that he was near going berserk. To him this place was the perfect picture of serenity and he hated it. Serenity, peace, calm, those things were like emptiness to him. He needed to do things, fill his life, one way or another. Movement, change, chaos. He craved those things. He needed to do something, get something done. After a while he decided to make a run across the roofs to get rid of the excess energy. That samurai hag that apparently was Setsuna's teacher had bitched on him about threatening to reveal the existence of magic with his jumping but he had told her to go fuck herself. Everybody already knew that Negi's class held a freaking kung-fu girl who could beat down thirty men in thirty seconds. If anything the gig should have been up a long time ago if his running was a threat. It had been pretty fun though. The samurai-hag had nearly popped a vein and been about to attack before her colleague held her back.

Dashing over the roofs he eventually decided to see if he could find that kung-fu girl. The running didn't quite cut it. He needed to fight someone to relax and she was always in a fight with the other martial artists of Mahora. But as he jumped he saw Setsuna standing by the world tree doing one of those training exercises of hers.

_"Eh, screw it..." _He thought and jumped down the building and dashed against her. She would do nicely.

* * *

Setsuna had barely noticed Kotaro's presence before he came out of the bushes and attacked her. She immediately saw the joyous look on his face, the same as the one he had had in Kyoto, and instinctively parried his attack. The samurai pushed him back and took a swing at him. He dodged the attack and she had to dash backward before he had a chance to cut her back. She made another swarm of swift attacks against him trying to keep him away from her. Her no-dachi put her on a disadvantage if he got too close. After a furious exchange of blows she had to leap up into a tree. Kotaro followed her up on the branch and hunched with his fingers crooked and his fangs bared, growling like a wolf. For a few seconds they looked at each other before charging.

Setsuna didn't know how long they had been fighting when she finally managed to get a hit on him. It was a shallow one but enough to draw blood. Then Kotaro suddenly straightened up and grinned.

"Sweet moves you've got there." He said looking at his jacket. "Guess first blood is yours this time. Shame on the jacket though, I liked it." Setsuna just stared at him. What the…?

"Hey, you hungry?" Kotaro continued, normally he would have left already but after a good fight Kotaro was always in a good mood. He was never as happy as when he had fought a good fight. He was happy enough to be nice even to her. "I'm gonna get something to eat, you game?" Setsuna opened her mouth but before she could say anything her stomach growled.

* * *

_"How did I end up here?"_ Setsuna sweatdropped as she slowly ate of her food. She was currently sitting with Kotaro at one of the restaurants near the world tree. The dog-man was happily devouring his Katsudon, already at his third bowl. For some reason she came to think of an animé she had heard the other girls talk about in which there was a boy that could eat twenty bowls of food… Setsuna however was only halfway in on her Sushi trying to understand the situation. A few days ago she had considered the man sitting across the table a beast in human skin; but now she wasn't too sure anymore. What he had told her refused to leave her. She had after much thinking realized something.

He was right.

She had blindly believed in the elders' words and allowed that to ruin her life. She had refused to hope. To believe that she was more than a freak. But why? Perhaps because she had been taught to obey her superiors without question that she in the end had been prepared to accept whatever they said. She had forgotten to think for herself. The realization hadn't been easy but she had refused to take the coward's way out and not try to change. In a way, she owed much to him.

But why was she sitting at a restaurant eating dinner with him now?

It was then that she saw some of the girls from the class. They were watching the whole thing from across the street. This was bad since they would most probably think it was a date. The fact that it was the cheerleaders made the whole thing _very_ bad. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she realized where this would lead. Kotaro looked up from his bowl onto her face and turned to look on what she was looking at. The cheerleaders quickly darted into cover when they saw it.

* * *

"I, like, can't believe it!" Misa said, "Setsuna-san managed to hook him?"

"Oh… my… god…" Sakurako was hyperventilating, "Oh… my… god!"

"I suppose she has something we don't…" Madoka said feeling a small pang inside her chest. She thought the boy was really cute and had been planning to invite him to the festival concert. She should have been quicker.

"Like what? Emo attitude?" Misa said.

"Whatever the reason the others must know… now!" Sakurako had already fished up her cell phone and was furiously clicking on the buttons.

* * *

_"Oh boy…"_ Sometimes Setsuna hated being right. Within a minute the area would be crawling with people. Kotaro looked up from his food again.

"What's th' matter? You've been starin' that way for a minute now."

"I'm sorry, it's nothing." Setsuna returned to her sushi. If she could eat up and get away before half the class arrived she wouldn't have to answer to stupid questions.

That turned out to be a fool's hope however. Within thirty seconds half the class was there. Kotaro was finishing his fourth bowl (how much could that man eat?) when Setsuna saw that every corner was packed with classmates. As they paid for the food Setsuna realized that there was no way out of there.

"Y'know?" Kotaro said as he took two of the free mint chocolates. "Your classmates piss me off sometimes. Are they runnin' a freakin' yobunjutsu (art of gossiping) dojo 'ere or what? "

"You noticed them?" At this, Kotaro rolled his eyes.

"You serious? I've had t' watch out for people tryin' t' gut me since I was five, dont'cha think I'd sense a bunch o' teenage brats tryin' t' sneak up on me?" He tossed one of the chocolates to her.

Five… Setsuna realized he must have become an orphan at the same age as she.

"Yo let's haul ass outta 'ere. I ain't wanna be stalked by a dozen gossip-hungry brats."

"How, we're surrounded."

"Not completely." Kotaro grinned.

* * *

"They are on the move!" Sakurako said.

"Can't you, like, get your own hiding places?" Misa said to the other girls, their hiding place had been invaded by nearly a dozen girls.

"I don't get why we are doing this." Akira said, "Can't we just let them be?"

"Are you nuts?!" Yuuna asked, "I'm gonna find out how someone like Setsuna hooked Kotaro-kun if it's the last thing I do." The girls sneaked closer.

"They don't hold hands…" Makie noticed.

"Perhaps they are too shy?" Misora suggested

"Aww… so cute." Sakurako squealed.

It was then that they both disappeared into a back alley.

"What are they doing? That's a dead-end." Natsumi said. After a second all the girls froze as they drew their own conclusions.

"Oh…" Sakurako whispered.

"My…" Haruna continued.

"God…" Kazumi finished.

Before anyone could stop her the redheaded reporter was sprinting towards the alley with her camera held high. She squeezed against the wall and after a few seconds she looked into the alley furiously snapping her camera. The other girls had just gotten up to her and tore her back when they saw that the alley was empty.

"What the…?"

* * *

"He, he, he, he…" Kotaro chuckled as he jumped across the rooftops, "I'd sure like t' see their faces now."

Setsuna smiled a little, the whole thing was a pretty good idea after all. She thought she had seen Kazumi amongst the girls and if she knew the redhead right she would now have taken several pictures on an empty alley. When she thought about what the girls must have thought she sniggered. She suddenly stopped on one of the roofs. Kotaro came down beside her.

"I got to go home how," She said. "Its school day tomorrow and I need to do my homework."

"Yeah, cool." Kotaro said add turned around before freezing, "Yo, mind if I use your bathroom first?" He asked.

"No it's all right." Setsuna said.

The room of the young samurai was very Spartan. It looked in some ways like it had been ripped from an old samurai movie and adapted to modern standards. Kotaro quickly got into the bathroom while Setsuna sat down by her table and taking out her homework. When Kotaro came out he looked at what she was doing. After a few seconds he blinked and shook his head.

"Weird stuff…" He said as he took off the wrapping on his chocolate. "How d'ya make heads an' tails outta that?" He stuffed the chocolate into his mouth.

"Practice," Setsuna remembered her chocolate and ate it too. "It's like fighting in a way."

"Eh… no it ain't."

"Yes it is; calligraphy is based on the interplay between the eyes and the arm, just like sword-fighting."

"Woo…" Kotaro whistled, "Deep shit, what fortune cookie did'ya steal that from?"

"From a movie in fact…" Setsuna said, "Hero."

"Hah!" Kotaro laughed, "I got owned by a samurai… I fuckin' fail at life."

"Without knowledge of learning, one will ultimately have no military victories." Setsuna said calmly. "Imagawa Sadayo."

"You sayin' I fail 'cause I'm an idiot?"

"A man with deep far-sightedness will survey both the beginning and the end of a situation and continually consider its every facet as important. Takeda Shingen."

"Ok… stop it… I get it, you ain't havin' t' rub it in."

"Good medicine tastes bitter in the mouth."

"Will you shut up!" Kotaro yelled as he noticed that Setsuna's shoulders were shaking. The half-choked sniggers that came from her made him grit his teeth. "That's it!" He threw himself at her trying to grab her. She slunk away however and he ended up gripping air as she danced to the side. The wolf-boy growled and went after her. This time he grabbed her and pinned her arms to the wall.

"What'chu sayin' now eh?" He asked as he grinned at her. Then suddenly it felt like he was punched in the gut. He blinked as he looked her into the eyes. Setsuna stood still and returnd his stare. Her large, deep eyes gazed, steady and unflinching, into his soul. It was then that something snapped for him.

Kotaro suddenly grabbed Setsuna and pulled her close. He acted on instinct as he kissed her, his lips meeting hers and his tongue invading her mouth as he pressed her against the wall. The taste of her lips was heavenly, it drove him crazy. Setsuna's eyes flew wide open and she tried to push him away. But when her mind registered the sensation it crushed any resistance in her and she kissed him back. Her arms snaked around him and she held onto him. He placed his hands on the back of her head and held it against his, his fingers running through her soft hair. It was like being on fire! The incredible, euphoric feeling consumed them both as their lips and tongues danced around each other. He pulled away from her when he ran out of breath. They looked at each other with dazed expressions. Their minds too clouded by the feeling to allow the gazes to mean anything. Then she tore him close and their lips met again.

Time and space didn't matter to them now. All that mattered was the sensation of each other. The warmth of the other's skin, the feeling of rough, callous hands that roved across each other's bodies. The electric jolts that came with each kiss, each touch, each breath of hot air. Kotaro pulled away and started kissing her neck as he lifted her effortlessly into the air and held her against the wall. Setsuna gasped at the sensation and held his head against her neck. She closed her eyes and folded her legs around him as the pleasure made her hyperventilate.

Kotaro had always known passion; he was passionate about friendship, about fighting, about many things in his life. But to hear Setsuna's rapid breaths as he let his lips work on her beautiful neck made him tremble. He had never felt anything even remotely like this. He didn't know what he was feeling but he didn't care. He just wanted this to go on forever. He suddenly stumbled and fell backwards onto the bed, Setsuna landed on top straddling him.

His lips left her neck for the faintest of moments but Setsuna took the opportunity and went for his throat. She kissed him hungrily and her lips moved down his torso. She was like an animal; she flew high above the clouds, the sensation dominating her. The rules of self-control she held so high had been forgotten a long time ago. The feeling was too good to let it stop! She flew, she soared and if this was wrong she just couldn't care!

When she reached his shirt she didn't even pause, she tore it off letting her kisses continue unobstructed down his chest. Kotaro let his head fall back and gasped as every kiss sent a bolt of lightning through him. She stopped when she reached his navel and returned to his face. Kotaro kissed her back with everything he had. He reached up and started unbuttoning her blouse but his hands trembled too much. After a while he cursed and tore it off as well.

The sight of her made something flare up inside him. She was so beautiful! Her silken soft skin seemed to be at odds with her passion for the sword. It was so smooth and unmarked, like the skin of a princess. But below the skin he felt her hard muscles, the muscles that had given him the scar across his left eye. He now saw that she had wrapped her chest with cloth bands. He reached up to remove them.

The sight of his naked chest mesmerized Setsuna; it was like a master artisan had sculpted it. The muscles were all defined and well developed like the muscles of a bodybuilder. But her trained eyes managed to register the slight differences that showed that it was the muscles of a warrior. His equally strong arms reached up for her bindings. She suddenly became self-conscious about the whole thing and stopped him. She looked away, she wanted so badly but she didn't dare.

Kotaro felt a deep disappointment when she stopped him but when he saw her embarrassed face he realized why. She was afraid.

"You are so beautiful," He whispered tenderly as he sat up slightly, "Don't worry, it's alright."

The soft words surprised Setsuna; she was used to his usual growling tone of voice, not this tender tone, it made his voice beautiful. His words calmed her, soothed her worries. She allowed him to take her hands away.

Kotaro took away her hands and started to wrap up the bindings. He felt oddly serene as his hand encircled her, he wanted her but more than anything else he wanted to let this moment last. She trusted him; Kotaro had lived most of his entire life without being trusted and he wanted to hold on to the feeling.

His hands moved around her chest in an almost frightened way. As if he was afraid to hurt her. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt. A creature she had called him. A monster. How could she have been so wrong? She let her hands guide him in removing the bandages.

When the last piece of cloth left her chest Kotaro leaned in and kissed her, this time softly, gently. It was no longer a question of mere lust. He looked deep into her large black eyes and felt something almost akin to sorrow. But it didn't make him angry or sad; it made him want to hold her.

The boy under her kissed her so tenderly that she almost began to cry. She wrapped her arms around his head and held it towards her chest. He embraced her too and they stayed in that position, the feelings they both held sufficiently expressed that way. No lust, no desire, only infinite tenderness.

They lay down beside each other, content to rest in the other's arms. It was in that position that they fell asleep, holding each other on the soft bed in a state of rare bliss.

* * *

"Things are going smoothly, exalted one." The man said as he gazed into the orb. "The two subjects are acting as expected… Yes, of course… Give my compliments to your associate, his idea worked flawlessly… As you command exalted one." The man pocketed the orb and walked away from the dormitories.

* * *

Kotaro lay on the bed sleeping like a small child. When he woke up the first thing he remembered was what had happened last night. The hanyō smiled as he reached out for the one beside him. His eyes snapped open when he felt nothing but air. He saw that he was alone. Kotaro sat up and looked around the room. It's wasn't his but there was no trace that there had been anyone else there other than him. He rolled out of bed and got dressed. In the air a faint scent of her still lingered. That and the fact that his shirt was destroyed were the only things that convinced him that he hadn't dreamed it all. Had she already left?

For some reason he felt down at the thought, he felt that he would have wanted to wake up beside her. The memories of last night were confusing to him and he had wanted her to remain so that he could understand them. He had laid beside her, held her, kissed her, said things he never would have before. Why had he done it? He had followed his instincts, but for once it didn't make sense. He had to find her; he needed to understand.

The sun was rising over Mahora signaling the start of a new day as he searched for her; its clarion call went unanswered by most as today was Sunday. The people here would spend days like these sleeping until late in the day, and then they would go out and spend their days in arcades, clothes stores and other places. It didn't make sense to him, their days of freedom were spent sleeping and pondering about what clothes they would buy. It was completely ridiculous from his point of view.

He caught the trail of her scent near one of the gardens that was planted across the campus. Now it was mixed with sweat, anger and fear. He went into the small forest and saw her doing one of those kata the samurai believed in doing. Holding back, he decided to watch her. She moved swiftly, precisely, her every stroke of the blade a potentially devastating attack. Several of the moves were familiar to him. He recognized them from their battle in Kyoto. There were a few flaws scattered amongst her movements however.

"_I'm still in training." _He remembered her saying. A slight smile appeared his lips as he walked closer to her. She whirled around when she noticed him and held out her sword against him.

"Just thought I should tell you that you lean a lil' too much to th' left when you do that overhead attack. Makes it easy t' counter it." He told her seemingly untroubled by her sword. "An' put that away, I ain't gonna jump you."

Setsuna lowered her sword and nodded stiffly, "I will take your advice into consideration." She said tersely before sheathing the blade before wrapping it up seemingly getting ready to leave. Kotaro blinked, what was that about?

"Ey wait a sec!" He yelled but saw that she didn't slow down. Gritting his teeth he moved in front of her with a shundo and blocked her path. She tried to walk by him but he grabbed her. "You gonna let me finish or what?" he said, irritation evident in his voice.

"I apologize but I have matters to attend to." She tried to get out of his grip but he held on.

"Hey seriously." He said, "I need t' talk with you. It's about last night." He tried to remain calm.

"There is nothing to talk about!" Setsuna snapped, "That was nothing but a big mistake."

"Mistake?" Kotaro didn't believe his ears, "You tryin' t' tell me all that was just a mistake.

"It was!" Her voice was cold as ice, "And it won't happen again, I'm willing to let it slide for now but don't think that I will let you do that again."

"Let me…?" Rage flared up inside him, "Last time I looked you were just as in on it as me! I ain't th' one who tore off my shirt if you remember!"

"Let me go at once you creature!" Setsuna yelled as she tried to tear away her arm from his grip.

Kotaro suddenly dropped her arm and looked at her, he was totally cold inside. "Fine…" He said after a while, "I get th' point, ain't gonna bother you no more, sorry for ever doin' it." He walked past her towards the exit of the forest. Behind him he could hear the sound of her footsteps as she left.

After about thirty seconds he roared with anger and slashed at one of the trees. His claws left deep marks in it. He clenched his fists and started to pound the tree with all his strength, his knuckles being bloodied by the impacts. Roaring again he grabbed the tree and tore it from the ground before hurling it away. He buried his claws in the fallen tree and tore it to shreds, splinters flying in all directions.

Then Kotaro sunk to the ground and felt his eyes mist up as tears started to slide down them. He fought to suppress the sobs that escaped from him. But the sobs were too powerful for him to contain and he broke down, weeping like a small child. He didn't understand why but he cried as he fell to his knees.

After a while he suddenly felt the cold mists that rolled in. He looked up and through his clouded eyes he saw a figure approach. A figure wreathed in mists, dressed in a gray robe and with a smooth porcelain mask covering his face. The figure stopped in front of him and gazed down on his prone form.

* * *


	33. Fading light

**Chapter 32: Fading lights. **

* * *

Asuna felt her heart rate spike as she stood in front of Takahata-sensei, both of them standing in front of the World Tree stairs. Evening had fallen and the sky was lit with fireworks. The festival was drawing to its end and this was her last chance. This was it, now she would tell him.

"So… Asuna-kun?" She heard his voice said, "What did you want to tell me?"

"I…I…" She took a deep breath. But then she looked up at him and saw him going farther and farther away. It was as if the ground was stretching out bringing them further and further apart.

Then suddenly another figure appeared beside Takamichi. This figure was Negi. Then they both stopped and looked at her. Takamichi had something curious in his eyes while Negi's eyes were… they were sad. Then she saw herself standing in front of them. In front of Takamichi stood a younger version of herself wearing her school-uniform and having her hair tied up in those pigtails with the bells. In front of Negi, however, stood a girl that appeared to be older than her. She wore the casual clothes Asuna had worn under the school-trip, had her hair let down and in her hands rested a giant blade. Takamichi stood still looking at the little girl while Negi reached out and caressed the older girl's cheek before turning away.

"Asuna-kun?" Takamichi asked.

"I'm sorry…" Negi started to walk away.

The two girls faded away and two paths appeared in front of her. One led to Takamichi and the other to the retreating form of Negi.

"Asuna-kun?" Takamichi asked again. It was then that Asuna began to run along one of the paths. She seemed to run in slow-motion and it was hours before she reached the figure at the end of the path. Her hand reached out and touched the shoulder of the man. Negi turned around upon feeling her touch and stared at her.

"You fool…" He said silently, "Don't do it…" Asuna's body moved on it's own as she wrapped her arms around him. "Please Asuna-san, don't…" Her eyes drilled into his and then her face approached his. Negi's eyes were so sad but, at the same time happy. Asuna closed her eyes and just as their lips was about to meet a ringing sound tore apart the dream and she sat up in bed. Her eyes misted up and she began to weep.

"_Negi you idiot!"_She thought.

* * *

Konoka listened to Asuna's sobbing and came to the conclusion that she didn't like the situation at all. She turned in bed and stared into the wall. First Asuna had become depressed and now something had happened to Set-chan. She had become just as depressed as Asuna and now spent most of her time staring into the wall. It was festival-time for heaven's sake! They were supposed to be happy and eager, not act like the end was near. She sighed as she tried to come up with something to do to fix the situation. She couldn't stand seeing her friends in this mood. 

She had tried to encourage Asuna by asking her about Takahata-sensei and if she was going to confess to him during the festival but her friend only seemed to become even more depressed when she asked. When she spoke with Set-chan about it the sword-wielder only answered summarily before continuing to be silent.

What was she going to do? She couldn't stand seeing her friends like this. After a while Asuna's sobs abated and Konoka made her decision, she decided that she had to do something. She was supposed to be a healer; this was what she was meant to do. Set-chan and Asuna had always protected and helped her, now she wanted to help them.

The next day Konoka put her plan into motion. The first step would have to be to find Negi-sensei to solve Asuna's sadness. She remembered that Negi had been given an advisor, Shizuna-sensei, and as soon as the day had ended Konoka hurried to the nurse's office to find the woman. The office was empty though, save for her classmate Ako.

"Hi Konoka-san." The pale girl said, "Do you need any help?"

"Hi Ako-chan." Konoka smiled, "Is Shizuna-sensei here?"

"No, she is away on lunch, I think she went to the world-tree café. But perhaps I can help you?"

"Well… I was hoping that she could help me find Negi-sensei's telephone number. I need to ask him about something."

"Okay… tell you what? If you wait here she will be back within an hour."

Konoka decided to wait and sat down at one of the chairs. After a while Shizuna entered and Konoka quickly caught her.

"Why hello there Konoka-chan. Do you need help with something" The head nurse said with a kind smile.

"Hello Shizuna-sensei," Konoka answered, "I was going to ask you if you have Negi-sensei's number."

"I do, why?"

Konoka lost some of her cheery disposition at this.

"He and Asuna got into a fight a few days ago and Asuna has been really sad ever since, I wanted to talk with him to see if I could help solving it all."

"Really?" Shizuna said, "That's very kind of you Konoka-chan but I'm not sure you can help with that." The nurse leaned in and whispered, "Negi is carrying the entire world on his shoulders as it is now and he won't let go of it. Until the ritual he is planning is finished he'll most probably be impossible to reach." Konoka looked, wide-eyed, at the woman who blinked, "Yes, I know about magic."

"Wow…" Konoka was awed by this but she soon regained her focus, "Still, I need to try for my friends' sake." She said to the nurse. "They have always been protecting me from everything, no matter what danger I'm in they will help me. I don't want to be the only one protected, I want to protect too!"

Shizuna looked at the girl for a few seconds before smiling, "All right; come with me and we'll get you that number. Five minutes later Konoka left the nurse's office with a piece of paper clutched in her hand.

* * *

In the deep catacombs below Mahora there are countless forgotten halls and rooms. In fact, there are so much space down there that all of Mahora could easily fit in there. 

And in one of these halls two people stood. One of them was a middle-aged man with grey hair, a short beard and cold eyes. He was dressed in jeans, a long trench-coat, wore gloves on his hands and a wide-brimmed hat on his head. All of it was black. The other was dressed in flowing, grey robes with the hood pulled up and a porcelain mask covering its face. It was impossible to see whether it was a man or a woman. The grey-haired man was kneeling in front of the other.

"I have completed all the tasks you gave me exalted one, within one week everything will be prepared."

"Good…" the figure's voice was dark and seemed to echo, it was unmistakably male. "Now all that remains is for the pawns to play their part." As if on cue, the sound of a cell-phone was heard in the room. The robed being took up a bloody cell-phone from the table beside him and answered, his voice shifting as it spoke.

"Negi Springfield…" he said, his voice perfectly mimicking the teacher's, "Hello Konoka-san, how are you… Really…? That's very kind of you but… there are certain things I cannot speak of on the phone involved… I understand and you are completely correct… Can I persuade you to wait a few days with getting the answer…? I cannot tell you anything before the festival… This is how we do it, on the first day of the festival you go down to the chamber under Library Island; you know the one we were in during the days before that exam…? Don't worry, the ghost won't bother you, I can assure you that… I have a mirror there with which we can talk safely but it won't activate before the festival… yes… you do that… take care… bye." He shut off the cell phone and chuckled.

"I must confess I find it truly amusing to manipulate these fools." His voice was now back to normal, "Do you not agree, servant?"

"I do, exalted one." The kneeling man smirked. "It's so easy to make them believe even the most ludicrous things."

"Better savor it while it's possible though." The man said as he put bown the cellphone. "Within a month there won't be many fools left to deceive."

"Perhaps it's for the best exalted one…" the kneeling man said with a smirk, "Isn't the only good fool a dead fool?"

The robed man's quiet laughter echoed through the room.

* * *

"Weeee!" Tsukuyomi shouted as she got out from the airport and spun around with her arms extended, "Home again!" As usual the girl ignored decorum completely and drew quite a few glances from the passer-bys. The girl was indeed an odd sight, still wearing her broad-brimmed hat and large sunglasses she was an almost cliché image of a tourist. 

"…" Fate studied her with a tired look on his face. From now on he would take the boat if he ever had to go somewhere with her. Forcing that girl to sit still for twelve hours straight was like putting a leash on a cat. A very bad idea. After having fought the desert guardians, nearly died in the desert and being forced to hunt down criminals to get enough money for the flight back to Japan one would think that she would have been exhausted. But no… she had gone into overdrive and been even more hyper than usual during the entire trip and Fate had started to worry about his mental health seeing as how he had seriously considered leaping out of the window during the flight. And that didn't even include when she had quibbled with one of the airport security employees for two hours on whether the souvenir scimitar she had bought was a weapon or not. Fate wasn't a religious man but he couldn't help but thank Allah that he had decided that they should check in early, otherwist they would have missed the plane. Now all that remained was a quick taxi trip to the Mahora campus to deliver the items and then it would all be over.

The most annoying part of the journey hadn't been the near-death experiences or Tsukuyomi's sugar-high attitude; but the fact that he had found himself wishing it would go on. He acctualy felt that he wanted to continue these travels. This irritated the Turkish mage who had, ever since day one, believed in logic. He didn't understand this yearning at all and this annoyed him. They both got into a cab and headed off towards Mahora.

Suddenly Fate noticed that Tsukuyomi was silent. The blonde swordswoman was sitting looking out of the window with a thoughtful look on her face. For some reason her silence unnerved him. It wasn't natural for her to be quiet like this. He chose to ignore it however and the journey proceeded in silence.

Reaching Mahora they paid the cab-driver and proceeded to the location that Negi had given them. This location was an amphitheatre that according to Negi was used as a training ground for the junior mages of Mahora. They had been told to leave the items in the hollowed out part of the stage. There the money would be located and when they had retrieved them they were to leave Mahora and all their deals with Negi would be over.

Fate looked across the amphitheatre when they had reached it. It was eerily similar to the genuine ones in Greece. He could almost imagine the actors of ancient Greece standing on the stage performing the great plays of their time. For a second it almost felt like home. But with every step down the platform he became more and more unnerved. There was something foreboding in the air. Something he recognized from somewhere but he just couldn't place it. He carefully stepped onto the platform and used an unincanted spell to reveal the place where they were to put the items but he didn't feel anything, the stage was solid all over. He widened his eyes when he realized where he had sensed this feeling before but suddenly he couldn't move.

* * *

Tsukuyomi had stayed at the top of the amphitheatre as she had seen the look in Fate's eyes when he looked out across the place. She realized that he had to feel homesick. Even if she spent most of her life in a state of hyper-ness she wasn't stupid and had decided to stay back and let the white-haired mage get a few seconds alone. Her question could wait a little longer. But when he had been standing perfectly still on the platform for a full minute she yelled out. 

"Hey whitey? Did you find the hole yet?" She asked as she walked down to him. Fate didn't give any sign that he had heard her. She got up on the stage and put her hand on his shoulder. "Whitey?"

Fate suddenly spun around with his fist raised and swung at her. Tsukuyomi was a split-second away from being hit but managed to jump away from the attack. She jumped backwards and Fate followed her unleashing a series of rapid attacks on her. The blonde girl managed to avoid all his attacks and tried desperately to understand what was going on. She eventually managed to get clear and got some distance between her and Fate.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled as Fate swiftly walked closer to her. She didn't understand anything. Why was he attacking her?! He was trying to kill her! Why!? The mage attacked again and Tsukuyomi suddenly saw his eyes. They had always been intense and cold but now they were empty. Like those of a corpse.

Realization hit her like a bolt of lightning. He was controlled!

She knew enough about magical controlling to know that the one controlling him had to be in the area and quickly started to scan the area while dodging Fate's attacks. She then perceived a figure behind one of the pillars. Taking out one of her knives she focused.

"_Tsukuyomi style secret technique. __Song of the gibbous moon!" _The knife blazed as she threw it and pierced the pillar effortlessly. The figure had to jump away and Tsukuyomi saw that the controller was a figure dressed in a gray cape who wore a porcelain mask on his face. Fate stumbled and fell as the connection between them was broken and Tsukuyomi ran to his side. The Turkish mage was clutching his head.

"Damn you… He groaned. "Damn you… not that… never that again… you…"

"Whitey!" Tsukuyomi was terrified; Fate's calm face was twisted in a grimace of anger. It was an inconceivable sight to the blonde swordswoman who always had known him as cold as ice. Movements in the corner of her eye made her look up at the figure that, to her confusion, was calmly standing by one of the pillars watching the scene.

"First time you see it tremble like that?" He said with a dark, echoing voice, "I can understand it being unsettling to see the thing you know as calm and collected act like a rabid dog."

"What…? Why are you calling him a thing?!" Tsukuyomi yelled.

"Because it is one." The figure said calmly, "Titles like "he" or "she" is meant for living beings, not for animated dolls."

"Shut up!" Fate suddenly looked up at the figure and summoned a giant spike of rock that crashed out from the ground below him. "Shut up you bastard!" He screamed.

"Fool…" The robed man effortlessly avoided the attack. "Have you really deluded yourself into thinking you are human, little doll?"

"Shut up!" Fate unleashed spell after spell at the figure who avoided them all. The white-haired mage then leapt into the air straight against him with his fist pulled back. As he approached the figure lifted his hand but out of nowhere Tsukuyomi came and pushed Fate off course. They both landed on the ground a swarm of thin threads spun around the spot they had been at only a split-second earlier. Fate was shaking when they landed and Tsukuyomi slapped him.

"You idiot!" She screamed at him, "Is that were all your babbling about planning went? I don't know what all that was about but that fighting sucked! If you go in like that against a guy like that you're dead meat, you moron!" Fate stared at her, shock and fear evident in his eyes. "Now; you ready to work with me in kicking that jackass's ass?" Tsukuyomi finished. Fate took a deep breath before nodding.

"Let's go." He said; his voice calm and collected.

"All right!" Tsukuyomi got up and drew her swords. The robed figure looked calmly at them before chuckling.

"So now the foolish girl that was exiled because she was so desperate to emulate her crush and the doll thinks that they have any chance at all against me."

"Don't get cocky mister hotshot." Tsukuyomi said, "You might just bite off more that you can…" Suddenly she was gone…_"Tsukuyomi style secret technique. Dance of the new moon!" …_and reappeared behind the man

"…chew"_"Tsukuyomi style secret technique, Full moon fury!"_ She unleashed a swarm of rapid attacks against him with both her swords glowing. The robed man was struck by several of the attacks but survived and managed to leap away, black ooze seeping out of the wounds. However when he landed Fate was above him chanting rapidly.

"Vish Tal Li Shutal Vangate. Little King, Eight Legged Lizard, Master of the Evil Eye. Let your Light Shine from my Hand, Release the fire of Catastrophe, Evil Eye of Petrification!" A beam of magic shot out from his fingers towards the man who barely managed to avoid it before Tsukuyomi charged at him. The figure lifted his hands and shot a stream of sickly green fire against her.

"_Tsukuyomi style secret technique. "Half moon __split."_ The blonde girl seemingly split into two and the two clones pushed each other to the side and managed to avoid the attack before both reached him and unleashed a whirlwind of attacks. The robed man didn't stand a chance against the attacks and was completely defenceless when Fate appeared in front of him.

"Die," was all the Turkish mage said before punching him with all his strength sending him crashing into one of the pillars. The robed man slid down to the ground and fell on his face, his body unmoving. Fate walked up to him and raised his fist for another punch but before he could swing his fist Tsukuyomi caught it.

"Don't," she said, "he's already dead Whitey." Fate was yet again shaking. His breathing was ragged and his eyes wide. "Don't do it Whitey, you won't win anything on beating the corpse of a dead man."

"I…" Fate whispered, "I swore… never again…Never… Never!" Tsukuyomi then hugged him. She acted on instinct as she put her arms around the white-haired boy and stroked his hair making soothing noises.

"Shhh Whitey…" she said gently, "It's alright… Shhh…" she led him to the edge of the scene where they sat down, Fate with his hands clasped staring intently at the ground and Tsukuyomi continuing to stroke his hair. After a while Fate spoke up, his voice yet again calm and collected.

"Do you remember what you said that night in the desert before we entered the ruined city?"

Tsukuyomi thought for a while before answering. "I asked you if you wanted to talk about what had happened in your past."

"Is that offer still open?"

"O… of course!"

"I am not human…" Fate said, "I have never been one." Tsukuyomi stared at him but kept quiet. "Six years ago one of the elders in Istanbul became tainted and started to create golems made out of flesh in an attempt to conquer Istanbul. His final weapon was a golem capable of not only independent thought, but also of using magic, me… However Negi Springfield found about my creator's plans during a visit in Istanbul. My creator was soon captured and executed. They were planning to destroy me too but Negi begged them to reconsider seeing as how I was a victim according to him. Eventually they spared me and allowed me to live. Something I did not desire… I did not want to keep on living due to what I was. A human doll is not welcome amongst humans, no matter how well-crafted he is. The reason I chased after Negi when you first met me was that I desired to defeat him. I wanted to prove my strength by defeating one of the greatest mages today. I… hoped that they would see me as a mage first. I desired to be seen as a human."

"You aren't human and never will be one, little doll." The voice of the robed man said. Fate's and Tsukuyomi's heads snapped to the side. The man now stood up, the grievous wounds on his body seemingly not affecting him at all. "This was amusing, but now it is over…" The man raised his hands again and suddenly power beyond anything Fate had ever felt before emanated from him.

* * *

Setsuna was in hell. 

The samurai girl had for days now been devastated. She was in hell, a hell consisting of yellow-eyes, black hair and a growling voice. She couldn't stop thinking of him. No matter how hard she pressed herself all that appeared before her eyes was the tall, muscular dog-hanyō. When she trained she remembered him leaning against the tree pointing out what she did wrong. When she ate she remembered him sitting on the other end of the table happily devouring his food. When she tried to study she remembered him looking over her shoulder at her homework. If she tried to sleep the smell of him wouldn't leave the sheets, the feeling of his arms around her wouldn't go away and the tingling sensation of his warm breath on her neck wouldn't stop.

No matter where she turned she was reminded of him.

"_I'm sorry." _Echoed in her head on endless repeat as she remembered the last time she had seen him.

_Flashback:_

_For Setsuna mornings was a call to arms, a cry to rise and start your duties. She always rose early, at sunrise, to begin her morning training. Those who would see her rise would think she was like a machine as rose, got dressed and made breakfast in seemingly one fluid motion._

_Not today however._

_This morning her bed was too comfortable to just get out of. Setsuna awoke feeling strong arms wrapped around her and suddenly she felt safe, content. The arm that her head rested on fit her perfectly and she shivered when she felt a breath of hot air against her neck. She snuggled closer to the sleeping boy and looked back at his face. _

_The young man she knew as a savage fighter seemed so peaceful when he slept. He seemed small, vulnerable. She stroked his face gently and decided to stay in bed just a little longer. As she snuggled even closer to him she decided that her duties could wait ten minutes. It was then that her eyes snapped open when she realized what she had thought. What was she thinking?!_

_She sat up and got out of the bed. She had just been about to abandon Konoka! How could she even think of that?! She was responsible for her best friend's safety, a duty given to her by Konoka's father and the God's cry elders and she had just planned to shirk from it! She dressed rapidly and grabbed her sword as she dashed out of the door. _

_End flashback:_

She had hurried out of the dorm and fled to the grove where she used to do her morning exercises. The realization of what she had been about to do had terrified her.

_Flashback:_

_Setsuna pushed herself to the edge as she did the kata over and over again. Her body moved through the familiar patterns as she tried to empty her mind. She couldn't do it… Protecting Konoka was what she lived for. The pure girl had been her only friend and the reason she had been able to smile again after she was banished from home. That was something she had decided to repay with her eternal service. It was her purpose in life and the duty given to her to always protect her. She was a samurai and to her, duty was everything. No matter what sacrifice she had to make she would do it. That was what she had known all her life. But now it was harder than ever to accept it. It was then that she sensed another presence. She whirled around with her sword at the ready and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Kotaro standing a few meters away. _

_She swallowed as she saw him, he looked so different, his eyes seemed warm, his posture was relaxed, inviting. The slight smile on his face made him even more handsome._

"_Just thought I should tell you that you lean a lil' too much to th' left when you do that overhead attack. Makes it easy t' counter it." He __said; his voice almost as soft as last night._

"_An' put that away, I ain't gonna jump you."__ Setsuna's blood rushed as she imagined him grabbing her and kissing her right there and now, pinning her aginst the tree and setting her on fire... No… she couldn't!_

"_I will take your advice into consideration." She told him as she sheathed her blade and turned away from him walking down the path out of the park. She couldn't stay here; if she did things would end like last night._

"_Ey wait a sec!" She heard him yell before he appeared in front of her grabbing her arm._

"_You gonna let me finish or what?" he said,__ his eyes looking straight into her soul._

"_I apologize but I have matters to attend to." She tried to get out of his grip, just his touch made her shiver, but he held on._

"_Hey seriously." He said softly, "I need t' talk with you. It's about last night." His yellow eyes were so intoxicating…it was like thay swallowed her... no!_

"_There is nothing to talk about!" Setsuna said, she had to tell him, tell him that she wanted so badly but that she had to follow her duty, "That was nothing but a big mistake!" The words came out all wrong as she tried to focus._

"_Mistake?" The disbelief was evident in his voice, disbelief and anger, "You tryin' t' tell me all that was just a mistake?" _

"_It was!" Why couldn't she tell him the way she wanted to? "And it won't happen again, I'm willing to let it slide for now but don't think that I will let you do that again." Her words were twisted, wrong. She didn't mean it that way!_

"_Let me…?" Kotaro's yellow eyes narrowed "Last time I looked you were just as in on it as me! I ain't th' one who tore off my shirt if you remember!" His voice was shaking now. _

"_Let me go at once you creature!" Why?! Why did she say everything so wrong?! She wanted to tell him that she couldn't, that she had to protect Konoka. But her words were all wrong. As her words left her mouth Kotaro's eyes suddenly lost all life._

"_Fine…" He said, his voice was cold as ice__, frozen, dead "I get th' point, ain't gonna bother you no more, sorry for ever doin' it." He turned around and stomped away. Setsuna couldn't bear to look at him, she took the coward's way out, she ran._

_End flashback: _

That was one week ago and now the entire world was gray to her. Her training, being with Konoka, nothing gave her any peace anymore. Her dreams were haunted by his eyes when she spoke those last words and she awoke every morning with her pillow wet.

She hated herself, she hated her duties; she had even caught herself hating Konoka for making her having these duties. This had made her even more disgusted with herself and she had thrown herself into her training trying to become tired enough to sleep without dreams of Kotaro and so it went on in an evil circle.

With all that tormented the young girl it was understandable that she missed the man standing in front of her before it was too late. As it was now she collided with him and fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry." She said listlessly before getting up and walking on. However the man put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

"Not so fast little girl." he said, "At least say hello to your former teacher." Setsuna's eyes flew wide open and she spun around. The man who held a hand on her shoulder was a grizzled man with a scar running across his eye. But what truly caught Setsuna's attention was the fact that beside the man, dressed in the traditional samurai outfit and a straw-hat, Motoko Aoyama stood.

* * *

A/N: The cavalry has arrived. With the aid of God's Cry the hunt for the mysterious man hopefully will be able to succeed. However the villain doesn't stay still and is moving is the shadows, seeking a mysterious prize. The clock is ticking and time is becoming a more and more precious coomdity. 

Back to the real world and real author's notices now. I've been noticing that I'm having less and less to say in these parts and that they become more crappy attempts at being a storyteller's voice. Let's try to use these things for what they are supposed to be used for.

One of the greatest liberties I took in this chapter was the one concerning Fate's past. This is something I made out of whole cloth since I wanted a reason for mr albino to be pursuing Negi. The key was what Eva said about him after their battle in Kyoto. (No I'm not gonna repeat it, go read the volume in question).

And on the other note... if anyone comes up with theories about who the mystery dude is and feels the need to brag about it... DO NOT STATE THEM IN A REVIEW! Those are for comments on the story, not for wiseguys to spoil things. I hate when those guys who can figure out every damn twist in a plot ten chapters ahead reveals those things in the reviews. If you REALLY need to brag about it to me then send a pm and I'll MAYBE give you a pat on the head. For the sake of those who are a little slower, keep the identity of the masked man to yourself.

Wow... I really sound like a PMS bitch now don't I?

Let's end with some good news. After the story is finished I was planning so update the story with another pair of chapters. However these will be extra material in form of chapters that didn't make it to the story, revelations of the original plot ect. However the staff can be awfully anal about these things and I don't want my story to be deleted. So until I can get clearing from them I won't do anything.


	34. The sound of distant thunder

**Chapter 34: The sound of distant thunder**

* * *

Setsuna suddenly became terrified. The raven-haired, tall woman who now stood on the empty street in front of her was one of the finest samurai the Gods' Cry had known in over three hundred years. This was the warrior who was strong enough to seal even a relic of such evil as the hina blade, who now wielded it, the woman who was able to defeat a hundred demons with one attack. And now she was right in front of her, the traditional samurai clothes at odds with the western architecture around them. Setsuna bowed to her with her heart pounding.

"I-I'm honored to meet you Aoyama-dono." She said. What was she doing here? Had she come for her; the traitor?

"What's with the formal tone Setsuna-san?" Motoko smiled at her, "There is no need to use such a formal title."

"A-as you wish, Motoko-senpai." Setsuna said uncertainly.

"Much better, how has life been for you these years Setsuna-san? Is your stay here pleasurable?"

"Hey," The man, a scarred, muscular man, butted in, "While you have your chat I'll go and dig up this Takamichi, call me when you're done here." With that he left them. Motoko looked expectantly at Setsuna who remembered her question.

"It is; life has been good these years." She lied. Motoko looked at the young girl before smiling.

"Care for some tea? I have things to discuss with you and perhaps we should go somewhere more comfortable than the middle of the street." She asked and Setsuna nodded instinctively.

Seeing as how Motoko was a newcomer to Mahora and did not know the area too well Setsuna invited the legendary warrior woman to her home. She quickly prepared tea when they got home and when they both were seated with a cup of tea Motoko spoke up.

"Now, let's get to business." She said taking a sip of her tea; Setsuna couldn't help but notice how gracefully she did it. "I understand that you were one of those who tried to stop the summoning of the Sukuna two months ago?"

"That is correct." Setsuna had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"I was given a testimony of the incident by Negi Springfield and he emphasized your contribution. Amongst other things your stalwartness when faced with nearly two hundred summoned demons, your devotion to Konoka Konoe when you took the arrow meant for her, your martial skill when you managed hold off his associate, the inugami Kotaro, for nearly fifteen minutes, I can continue if you wish…" She smiled at the young girl who was looking down into the table but the samurai noticed that she seemed sad, not embarrassed.

"Anyway, the entire incident, especially the exiling of the samurai Tsukuyomi, was actually very cathartic to the Gods' Cry. Many of us questioned the elders for exiling a girl who had been ordered by them to assist the Kansai extremists." Motoko took yet another sip of her tea

"Eventually the whole thing nearly escalated to civil war." She continued, "However it fortunately never got that far. The elders stepped down and as we speak a great reformation is happening within the God's Cry. From this day on our school will become more tolerant, more open and more forgiving. We will no longer ruthlessly forbid any development of our style not done by those the elders have approved of. Nor will we exile those who have other duties other than watching over Kyoto." Setsuna looked up at Motoko at this.

"That's right Setsuna-san, if you wish; you will yet again become a full member of the Gods' Cry while still protecting your ward."

Setsuna was in shock. Become a member of the Gods' Cry again? It couldn't be… It was impossible, too good to be true… And they would let her keep watching over Konoka… It was a dream coming true…

So why wasn't she happy?

"I…" She bowed her head, "I thank you Motoko-senpai. And I accept with all my heart."

* * *

This was not what Motoko had expected. She had expected Setsuna's eyes to light up with joy but they were just as dull as ever. What had happened to the young passionate girl that had yelled at the elders that if they would forbid her to follow her ward she would leave the Gods' Cry. The girl who without hesitation had followed through with this? She seemed like she didn't really care. Her words about accepting with all her heart had been hollow and empty. Setsuna looked out through the window but suddenly she snapped her head back to look into her lap. Motoko looked to see with her made her look away and noticed a couple standing in the park outside, embracing each other. The pieces fell into place for Motoko and she smiled. 

"So… you've met a boy?" She asked, she didn't show it but she was happy for Setsuna's sake, she remembered herself at that age and the young man she had fallen in love with. Setsuna however looked up with wide eyes.

"N-no!" She exclaimed, "I-I… that's not… there's no "boy" in… I mean… I'm a samurai! Those things aren't for me!" Motoko sighed inwardly at this. There was another similarity.

"Let me tell you a story." Motoko eventually said softly. "Not too long ago there was a student of the Gods' Cry who had left the village to travel. Eventually she had ended up in the Tokyo area and took up residence at a dormitory for girls. This place was run by a kind old woman who had taken in several girls and given them a home. The girl in question remained her for a long time. The reason why she had left was because of her family. She hadn't been able to live up to their expectations and after one of her relatives married she… she essentially fled." Setsuna looked at Motoko, the samurai had quickly caught the girl's attention.

"You see… this girl was uncertain of herself, of her worth, and she hid her uncertainty behind a mask of authority and anger. She blamed men for everything and had done that ever since the relative she respected most of all married a man. She felt that her relative had been corrupted and weakened by a man and came to the conclusion that men were perverted and evil." Motoko chuckled softly, a deep, beautiful sound, "She even refused to call the men, she called them "males"." Setsuna couldn't help but snort at this too.

"This girl stayed here for a long time but then the old woman went on a journey and left one of her relatives in charge of the place. This relative was her grandchild, a young man."

"What?" Setsuna blurted out.

"Indeed, a male manager of a girls' dormitory." Motoko smiled, "This didn't go well with the girl and she hated the young man from the beginning. And there was much to hate in him according to her. He was clumsy, cowardly and perverted; he was also a second year ronin. The girl terrorized him from day one; it was a miracle the man didn't die from all the techniques she used on him."

"She used the God's Cry techniques on a normal man?" This was something incomprehensible to Setsuna, a sacrilege.

"Yes," Motoko said, "However there was nothing she could do to get rid of him and this actually saved the girl. After a while her relative came to bring her back to the Gods' Cry since the time had come for her to assume her family's duties at the dojo."

"This girl was terrified, she wasn't ready, she was too afraid. She had to find a way to get away from it. Eventually she lied." Motoko nodded when she saw Setsuna's expression, "She told her relative that she was to marry with the young man; she did it so she could get away from her responsibility. The thing is; this young man went along with the lie. He immediately did everything he was capable of to aid her. Despite insults, abuse and much more he did everything for her. When the relative discovered the truth however, the girl was exiled."

"I don't see what you mean Motoko-senpai…" It sounded like another one of the many stories she had heard while she was training about the importance of virtues and what happened to those who didn't follow them..

"The story doesn't end there." Motoko interrupted, "Even after she was exiled the young man still did everything to aid her. When she fled the building into the rain he cased after her and made sure she got dry, when the relative gave the girl another chance he, despite a broken leg, aided her. And in the end she redeemed herself and got another chance thanks to this young man. This "perverted male", as she called him, had a heart of pure gold and would do anything for those he cared about and she was one of those persons to him despite everything she had done to him."

"Why?" Setsuna voiced her question.

"He couldn't do anything else, deep within he was a pure person who couldn't do anything other that everything he cared for." Motoko took another sip of her tea

"Eventually things changed again. The girl couldn't find it in herself to hate the young man anymore. After a trip the young man had taken to America he had come back much more mature and had become much more reliable. It was shortly thereafter that the girl began to dream. She began to imagine herself as a married woman, married to this young man. She fell in love with him."

"The thing is… she was too late. The young man had already found a beloved. A girl he had searched after for years. But still… through all this the girl became stronger thanks to one vital thing this young man learned her..." Motoko looked up at Setsuna with an intense gaze.

"A samurai cannot be a machine… she will have feelings and she mustn't suppress them. Control, yes, but not suppress. Thanks to the happiness he showed her she was able to return home and assume her duties in a manner above everybody's expectations. And even if she could never have him she did tell him how she felt and they are friends even to this day…" Motoko looked out through the window, "It does hurt sometimes, but if I would have parted with him in a less amiable way I would hate myself today."

Motoko finished her story and noticed that Setsuna was trembling. The girl's hands were clenched in her lap and her head down. A sob escaped the girl as tears started to fall from her eyes. Motoko rose without a word and walked to the girl's side embracing her. Now Setsuna's last vestiges of control snapped and she blurted it all out. How she had met Kotaro, what he had told her, how they had ended up sleeping together and what she had told him. When she was done her head was buried in Motoko's clothes and she wept in despair. Motoko held her, embraced the young girl and gave her what comfort she could.

* * *

Takamichi didn't really know what to make of the man in front of him. The scarred man had shown up out of nowhere. One second Takamichi had walked down the road to the world tree café and the other the man suddenly was behind him. The man had told Takamichi his name, Katsu Takahashi, and started to ask questions about Negi. Takamichi had been surprised to hear that the man was the Heaven's Wing warrior who had trained the young mage. The scarred man was all business and had quickly pumped him on everything Takamichi knew, that including what had happened right before Negi left for Wales. 

"Really…" Katsu's eyes narrowed when Takamichi had finished his story. "Where can I find this Asuna?" He suddenly said.

"What do you want with her?" Takamichi knew that the man was one of the Gods' Cry samurai sent to investigate but he didn't want him to interrogate Asuna, the girl had enough problems as it were without a scarred brute harassing her.

"Not your business."

"Yes it is, as her former teacher and her guidance councilor I'll make it my business." Takamichi stated firmly.

"So, you stand in the way of an official investigation?" Katsu had a smirk on his face.

"When this "official investigation" harasses innocents, I do." Takamichi subtly shifted his weight for better balance.

Katsu's hands fell down to his swords, "Big words, prepared to back them up with your actions?"

"Try me," Takamichi put his hands in his pockets and started to mould kanka.

"My pleasure…" Suddenly Katsu drew his blade with lightning speed and cut, Takamchi's hands moved too fast to see as they leaped out of his pockets sending a burst of kanka towards the man. To the untrained eye it all looked as if suddenly something exploded between them. When the explosion was over Katsu's clothes had a gash across the side and a small cut appeared on Takamichi's neck. The samurai sheathed his sword.

"I could have decapitated you." He said.

"I could have bisected you." Takamichi answered.

For a few seconds everything was silent; then the samurai started to laugh.

"Good…" he said, "you're not afraid of death, too many cowards these days. Don't worry; I'll just ask her about Negi, you can come along if you want to." Takamichi was silent for a while.

"Very well…" he said, "I'll take you to her."

* * *

Asuna was sitting in the amphitheatre looking at the ground. She had been walking without any goal in mind and ended up here. Now she stared at the spot Negi had been standing at when he had tried to rape her. That had been the first time she had been truly afraid. She remembered his eyes; they had been totally empty, like gates into oblivion. She had for a second felt that it was all over. For one second she had been convinced that he would do it. She never wanted to feel that again. She never wanted to feel anything again. 

Despite Takahata-sensei's promise that he would contact Negi she hadn't heard anything from him and she had started to give up. The red-headed girl wasn't stupid despite her grades. She knew that Negi would cast the ritual soon. That was probably why he had gone back to Wales. And when he was done with it he would go off to search for his dad and never return here. He had left her behind and she was left to be alone again.

"So you're Asuna huh?" a gruff voice said. Asuna looked up briefly to see a tall, muscular man with a scar across his left eye standing in front of her. Without answering she returned to look at the ground wishing that he would leave her alone. However she wasn't that lucky and the man spoke up again. "Doing the emo thing I see." Asuna stood up and walked away. As she reached the stairs she heard his voice yet again.

"Good move of Negi to dump you." Asuna froze at this. How did he know about that? What did he mean? "It was stupid of him to have anything to do with a weakling as you to start with. I mean look at you. You've been moping around for days just because he got a little pissed at you. Did you really expect to be of any use to him as you are now?" Now he raised his voice. "Did you really expect to be of any aid to my apprentice if you start whining as soon as he gets pissed at you?!" Asuna wanted to run away but for some reason she turned and looked at him. The man's eyes were narrowed and he glared at her.

"Tell me that Asuna Kagurazaka. Do you truly expect to be of any help to the guy that carries one of the heaviest legacies in the world on his shoulders if you start moping so easily? Has he told you about his past, about his father? You know what he's going through and you dare to be this self-centered!" He started to walk towards her and stopped only a few inches from her face.

"Tell me something. Do you still want to be his ministra or have you decided to stay in a hole made out of self-pity and rot away there?" For a while neither of them said anything. Then the man turned away and walked up the stairs. "Weakling…" He muttered.

"Wait!" Asuna suddenly yelled. The man stopped and turned around.

"What?" was all he said.

"I still want to help him." Asuna said. She didn't know what the man was getting at but for some reason she still said it.

"Do you now…?"

"Yes." Asuna spoke from her heart for the first time in days.

"Then defend yourself." The man drew his sword and leapt up into the air. He held the sword high over his head with both his hands and swung it against her as he descended. Asuna acted on instinct.

"Adeat!" the giant blade appeared in her hands and she parried the sword. Her parry wasn't something she had to think about. The training with Setsuna had, before she stopped, progressed to the stage where she made these moves on instinct. Her hands trembled from the impact as the scarred man grinned.

"A Zanbatou? Nice, now let's see what you can do!" He leapt skywards and pulled the sword back. "Heaven's Wing Secret Technique. Red Thunder!" He swung the blade and a blast of ki shot out from his blade towards Asuna. The red-head instinctively parried and the blast struck her blade. Even if the heat nearly made her lose her grip on the sword she escaped unharmed and charged him. Spinning her blade around she used the centrifugal force to speed it up and made a sideways low swipe at him. As she had guessed he leapt over it and she sent a kick towards him remembering what Setsuna said about kicks being her strong point. The man, however, effortlessly caught the kick and sent her flying.

* * *

Takamichi's cigarette had a long since dropped to the ground as he watched Asuna fight. How had he missed this? The red-headed girl moved swiftly and surely, swinging the gigantic blade like it weighed nothing. When had the little girl he knew as a clumsy and loveable girl become this good? She was already on par with many combat-mages and he could easily see that she had much more to give. With enough training she would surpass him easily. 

As she leapt through the air making a downwards swing that crashed into the ground, shattering the ground Takamichi saw the grin on Katsu's face. The gruff samurai had told him to stay back as he shook her out of her depression and now he was dodging her attacks with one of the widest grins that even had graced the world. Suddenly Katsu made a jerking motion towards Asuna and she flew backwards, having been struck with a punch too fast for the eye to perceive. Even if she managed to land on her feet the samurai was in front of her within a second and struck her to the ground as he unsheathed the other sword too. Asuna tried to get to her feet but Katsu's blades buried themselves in the ground on either side of her head. A small gash appeared on each of her cheeks.

"Too slow on the offense, too ineffective on the defense. What's the use of making that kind of windmill swings when you already have a three-hundred pound blade in your hands?" Katsu dragged her to her feet and took the blade from her hands. "This is how you do it, and pay attention since I'm only showing this once." He swung the blade around in a series of swift, short arcs. Afterwards he threw the blade to her,

"You do it now." Asuna stared at the man, what was this about? "And don't ask any questions. As I see it you have two options, either you start swinging and I'll teach you how to kick his ass, or you don't. The reason why I do this is that I want to see his stupid face when you send him flying."

After a while Asuna started to smile. "Okay!" she said and started to swing the sword

Takamichi smiled as he left. It didn't seem like she would slip into depression again.

* * *

The two samurai sat by the table in the hotel-room and looked into the papers. Said papers contained all the information Tokou and Gandolfini had managed to get from the autopsy of the murdered janitor. They had been digging trough the papers for two hours now and thus far they hadn't found anything important. Katsu, who hated paperwork, had gone and gotten a saké bottle after only twenty minutes and was now on his third, however he didn't show any sign of being drunk and still went through the papers with speed and certainty. Motoko however, hadn't displayed any signs of neither boredom nor restlessness. She had politely declined Katsu's offer of sharing the bottle and sipped on a mug of tea. 

"The spikes seems to be made out of coagulated blood, only that they are as hard as steel." Katsu read. "Never heard of that before."

"By the way Katsu-san." Motoko said, "I noticed that you returned here with Asuna Kagurazaka. I must say you surprise me"

"Huh?" Katsu looked at her as he took a sip of his saké

"I never figured you for a…"

"Finish that sentence and I'll break this bottle on your head." Katsu interrupted her holding up the current saké bottle.

"Okay…" Motoko said, "Still… you surprise me."

"Just because sex is the only thing on your mind doesn't mean that everybody is like that." Katsu said with a surly voice.

"Then why?"

Katsu looked up at the raven-haired beauty and smirked. "You did see her didn't you?"

"Yes, why?"

"She's perfect for him." Katsu took another sip. "She's feisty enough to tell him when he's an idiot and she's never going to become a meek housewife. Add the face that she's got looks and also strength enough to be more than a tagalong and you've got the perfect wife for him."

Motoko stared as her colleague.

"So now the "Black Thunder" has become a matchmaker?" She asked. This was a new side of him. "Are you kidding?" she said feeling mirth bubbling up inside her,

"Girls who kiss other girls' boys shouldn't point fingers. Are you still writing those cheesy romance things where you elope with him?" This made her stop laughing. For a moment they were quiet; then Katsu spoke up again.

"My stupid apprentice thinks he can carry the entire world alone. No matter how hard things get he only grits his teeth harder and moves on. Thing is, if you grit your teeth hard enough they'll shatter from the pressure. He needs someone to stand beside him and that girl would be great for that. The thing is; he's too proud to allow anyone to help him just like that and I'll need to train her to the level where she'll be able to defeat or at least challenge him. That way he'll accept her aid and in the end they will get together."

"You really think she'll improve that much in only a pair of weeks?"

"Yeah…" Katsu said after a while, "At least so that he will see what she can become. She's amazing; she has more talent than anyone I've ever seen before and Negi has already trained her well, all she needs is a few small hints and she'll become even better. She's one of a kind, that girl. It's like she's made for battle. Mind, body and soul she is a born fighter. If I'm not mistaken she might even be able to use magic and her ki is already well developed. If she can create kanka and combines it with her talent and good training… well; watch out world."

"And you also hope that if Negi's seal ever break she will be able to stop him…" Motoko guessed softly. Katsu sighed.

"I know enough about the taint to not take any chances." He said, his voice hollow, tired. "I still don't get how it could happen to him. The brat seemed destined to shine like the sun and now…"

"Unfortunately his father's legacy is a harsh one." A soft voice said. Motoko and Katsu both looked in the direction of the sound and saw a black-haired, androgynous man wearing a heavy robe standing by the wall. "Forgive me for intruding upon your little date but I believe I can be of aid to you concerning the dark mage."

"And you are?" Katsu asked with narrowed eyes and one hand on his sword.

"Albiero Imma, at your service." Albiero bowed to them. "I am one of Negi's father's old friends."

* * *

_I never __was one for writing journals…"_the ancient vampire wrote in the large book, the feather pen dancing over the empty leaves leaving a trail of black ink in its wake. "_But the recent events at Mahora had given me plenty of reason to write down my story. If nothing else I do it to ensure that there is something left in case I do not survive the upcoming struggle. _

_I was born during the dark ages. I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly what year it was but I know that it was somewhere around the 1170's. My first memories are those of my father, Bruce McDowell, duke in the service of King William the First, and how he stood with me on the ramparts of his castle showing me our domain. It's strange to recall since, at that time, daughters were often more of a burden than anything else but he seemed to truly care for me. "You will become so beautiful when you grow up." He used to tell me. Life was good for me there. Even if I was somewhat lonely I cannot say it was a sad childhood. My father and my nursemaid, a kind old woman named Beathag, both took care of me and I was not lacking anything, not even love. _

_Then came the accursed night when the stranger arrived. He came to the castle, riding on a black horse, in the dead of night, thunder heralded his arrival and I remember that I awoke screaming in fear. When I snuck out to find my father I was accosted in the hallway by this man. Even until this day I can recall his face perfectly. Black hair cut in a flawless bowl-cut, grey, dead eyes with the glow of pure evil in them, sharp lines in a face that would have been handsome had he not been pale as a corpse… His name was Rory McCormack, and that night, he became my sire. My father had defied the vampires on many occasions and Rory had been sent by one of the elders to get revenge._

_As a child I was a weak girl, I often fell ill and the only reason I even survived was because my father had in secrecy brought a witch to the castle to help me every time I fell ill. As a result of my weakness, the transformation was over in only a few hours. Rory then brought me, mad from thirst, to my father's chamber. He had decided to let the great vampire-hunter be killed by his own child, a vampire. Dumping me outside the door he left the castle, sure of what would happen. I could give many excuses for what happened next, I was just turned, the hunger was overwhelming, but I know that there is no excuse for what I did. My beloved father died, I sunk my fangs into his neck and drained him of every drop of blood. He couldn't raise his sword against me. _

_When my nursemaid arrived at my father's door to see if I was there she found me covered in my father's blood with sharp fangs visible in my mouth. Beathag rushed in to comfort me. Even when covered in my father's blood she could not hate me. She only sought to comfort me and her reward for this was that I drained her too. When my beloved nanny tried to comfort me, I killed her to sate my hunger. Upon realizing what I had done I fled the castle, leaving my innocence and childhood in the bloodied room where the two people that I loved more than anything had died, both by my hands._

_When the dawn approached I hid in an abandoned animal den in the forest. The day-sleep came to me and I was haunted by nightmares for the entire day. When I awoke I felt how my cheeks were wet, wiping away the tears I saw that I had not cried tears, but blood. This blood was a reminder of what I was. Then, when I saw the blood, a new emotion arose within me. _

_Hate. Anger. Wrath. Fury. A dear child has many names. I decided in that den, still wearing my dress, now torn and bloodied, with tears of blood streaming down my face, that Rory McCormack would die for what he had done. I sat out from the den to find him and kill him. However a noble-born child did not belong in the forest in those days. I quickly got lost and I don't know how long I walked in that forest but then the robbers found me. These robbers weren't like most robbers in those days, normal men forced into a life of crime. They were truly bad seeds. Their leader caught me as I tried to steal a chicken from their camp and apparently I was just the kind of girl he wanted. _

_I spent weeks in that camp being raped by them. I was bound in the depth of a cave and every night their leader came to me. The memory of his filthy hands on me still haunts me. I have never been able to enjoy the touch of a man because of him. However, then full moon came. The filth came to me again but this time I was ready. The moon was visible outside and I suddenly felt strength flowing through me. I ripped through their ropes like nothing and before the man could do anything other than scream I drained him. I enjoyed feeling his life slowly seeping away from him. It was wonderful, like the taste of a rare wine. When his underlings came into the cave they must have been frightened beyond words. In front of them, effortlessly holding a giant man in her hands, a small child was standing with blood dripping down her face with an evil grin on her face…" _

Evangeline closed her eyes as she remembered that man. She had indeed enjoyed feeling him die. The hatred in her had completely taken over that night and she had butchered all of them. After a while she resumed her writing. With the exception for her arm she was completely still. The time went on in her sanctum and the night slowly fell as she kept on documenting her life.

"…_In the end, I pierced him with wooden stakes and laid his body on the roof. With dawn only a few minutes away I stood still on the roof, looking down at my hated enemy. After nearly two hundred years, vengeance was finally mine… It was then that Rory looked at me, his body moving slowly and stiffly. _

"_You say you hate me, fair lady, but still __I __do not know why. I should have remembered insulting such a lovely flower…" he croaked, even as death drew near he still was just as silver-tongued as always. I then let my glamour fall and revealed my true appearance, a face I had not shown for countless years._

"_Do I look more familiar now?" I asked. Rory croaked when he recognized me. Then he started to laugh. He lay on the roof of his own mansion, mutilated beyond healing with dawn only a few minutes away. And still he laughed. Finally he looked up at me again and said._

"_What an irony, the woman I fell in love with turned out to be the girl I used as a weapon since I was too much of a coward to face her father."_

_His words struck a chord in me. Love… that accursed word I had not heard in centuries._

"_What do you mean?" I demanded._

"_What I said…" He wheezed, "The elders sent me to kill your father or be killed myself, I was too afraid to face your father though. Amongst our people he was known as the man who had single-handedly slain a hundred of us. I knew that there was no hope for me to win so when I found you I saw the perfect weapon since I had heard how much he loved you. Originally I had planned to stay and kill you when you were done with him, to spare you the pain, but I couldn't stand hearing your cries. So I fled. Ever since that night I've heard your cries every day and hated myself." Rory coughed before looking at me again._

"_It's probably not worth anything to you now but know that I'm sorry for what I did, If I could have changed one thing it would have been to face your father like a man instead of condemning his daughter to this accursed life."_

_I was in shock now… this was not how my revenge was supposed to go. For some reason I kneeled beside him and took his chin in my hand. Gazing into his eyes I asked the question I wish I hadn't. _

"_You… loved me?"_

"_Aye…" His voice was subdued now, "When I first saw you I thought that an angel had come to this world. When you responded to my advances I felt like all the things I had gone through was worth it. When you told me that you found men like me interesting I felt that even if I died right there and burned in hell for my sins I would be a happy man. And when you came to me this night I had planned to propose to you." He managed a weak smile with the look of someone utterly defeated on his face. "But it seems there are no happy endings for our kin."_

_Don't ask me why I did what I did then, I just did it. I acted on my instincts and let my cold heart decide my actions. I kissed him. Perhaps it was because I could relate to him; perhaps his confession and the months I had spent with him had made me see who he really was. He was no demon. He was just an eloquent coward. I then put him down and rose. _

"_I do not regret it." I told him. He smiled at me before answering. _

"_I do." Then the dawn came and I had to flee as Rory McCormack, my sire, died, burned to ashes by the harsh light of the sun…"_

Dawn came to the sanctum as well but the ancient vampire had long since stopped to care about sunlight. It had been around one hundred fifty years since she stopped to care. As the sun climbed yet again up into the sky she wrote the story of the meeting that had changed her entire existence.

"_At the time I was walking through the mountains of Transylvania.__ I had no special destination in mind, I just wandered. Then I suddenly found myself surrounded by gypsies. These were unlike the normal gypsies, their eyes gleamed with madness. They were dirty and disheveled and were all armed. I did not know what they wanted and, frankly, I didn't care. I was about to throw out my threads to ensnare them when suddenly another gypsy came out, this one was a woman. One wearing silk instead of the other's wool and covered in gold jewelry. I drew the conclusion that she was their leader._

"_I don't appreciate being accosted by filthy vagrants, little girl," I said to her "Unless you want to discover what's awaiting in the afterlife I suggest you and your servants get out of my way." The girl, raven-haired and big-eyed, was quite an exquisite example of gypsy beauty and when I had spoken she laughed. _

"_These are not my servants, great one," she said, "I am here to extend an invitation from my master, Lord Dracula, ruler of Transylvania."_

_Dracula, I had heard that name before, a great warrior amongst my kin, infamous for single-handedly butchering an entire army of Turks and leaving their impaled bodies to rot on the plains of Romania. I didn't think too highly of him however. To me, he was just a simple brute in love with killing._

"_An invitation you say?" the offer amused me for some reason._

"_Yes," she bowed to me, "my master hoped that the Dark Evangel would grace his castle with his presence."_

"_And why should I make such a detour just to visit some backwater lord who thinks he's worthy of my time?" This statement made the girl growl quietly to himself. Apparently he had enthralled her quite well. However the girl calmed down and spoke again. _

"_My master hoped that you would aid him in a project of his that he believes can be mutually beneficial." She said and with that she had gotten my interest. What was the impaler up to I wondered. If he thought that someone of my age could gain from it… well, it had to be big. I eventually followed the girl and we arrived after a few hours at Dracula's castle. The man himself, a tall, quite handsome, man with dark eyes and black hair, met me on the stairs to the keep. When I came up the stairs he took my hand and kissed it. _

"_It's an honor to finally meet you, Lady McDowell." He said, his dark voice a perfect tenor. "I hope my invitation wasn't an inconvenience to you."_

"_It wasn't, Lord Dracula," I answered, amused by his politeness. It had been a long time since anyone had addressed me in such a polite manner._

"_I am grateful for that. Now, perhaps I could offer a bath to wash away the traveling dust before dinner Milady? My servants have already heated the water."_

"_I am grateful for your offer Milord." I curtsied to him, two could play this game. _

"_Feel free to ask my servants for whatever you desire, they will to everything to ensure your stay is pleasurable." The impaler ended the conversation with._

_I was shown to an exquisite chamber where a large, surprisingly enough immersed, bathtub awaited me. As I soaked in the water the black-haired girl came out offering to help me. I accepted since I was curious about this girl, she was obviously a vampire too and this was the first time I had seen a vampire servant. As she cleaned me I "accidentally" hurt myself and cut my finger. The poor girl was almost mesmerized by the sight of my blood. Young vampires have always become crazy at the smell of blood and mine was at this time ten times as potent as that of humans. The girl seemed to be starved, she could barely control herself. I decided to take advantage of Dracula's promise and asked the girl to suck the blood off seeing as how it would be a waste to let it fall to the ground._

_Few things are as intoxicating as the feeling of utterly dominating someone. Apparently Dracula's control over his maids was strictly psychological. This was impressive; breaking a vampire's mind isn't easy even with the aid of blood-addiction, but it also made it pathetically easy for me to break her. Within seconds she was serving me in ways I highly doubt Dracula had intended. Purely for my enjoyment I broke her and made her my pleasure slave. _

_Later, when I was done in the bath, another girl, this one red-headed, came with a dress for me. She said that her lord was about to dine and would appreciate my company. Yet again the Transylvanian lord amused me. Eat? Had he forgotten what he was? Or was he going to feed in front of me, something considered extremely rude amongst vampires, and offer me one too?_

_It turned out that he had "tapped" a human of blood and ate it like soup. I ate of the "soup" too, the antics of this mountain-living fool an endless source of hilarity. However it turned out that he had a point with it. _

"_Is that not something you miss sometimes Lady McDowell?" he asked when we were done eating, "The taste of mortal food? The kiss of the sun? The beauty of sunlit landscapes?"_

"_It does happen, why?" I could make that one confession to him; no vampire is without that longing._

"_I will be honest with you milady." At this he leaned forward, clasped his hands in front of his face and looked intently at me. "An associate of me recently returned from a long journey, carrying with him a tome from the far east. He couldn't read all of it but what he could decipher spoke of "How the nightwalkers became daywalkers." It might be that the book describes how to conquer the weaknesses of our kind and even if it isn't so it might be possible to deduce a method to do so from it. Now, I am a decently accomplished mage but such magic is beyond me milady. I invited you here because you are one of the greatest mages amongst our kin." Now he had gotten up from his seat and looked at me with a gleam in his eyes. _

"_Will you aid me in this Lady McDowell? Will you work with me in deciphering this book and defy god and the curse he has put on us?"_

_How could I refuse such an offer? Even if I was skeptical of the man himself I accepted. He, as they say, gave me an offer I couldn't refuse._

_It was fortunate that I did this, the book turned out to be genuine. It spoke of how the night-living creatures of the east could counter the searing effects of the sun and walk openly. It was, however, extremely hard to translate properly and in the end I spent five years in Dracula's castle trying to decipher it. And don't expect me to give you any details. The book was destroyed some years after I left Dracula's castle and I did not keep any notes. The only place the secret of defying daylight can be found today is my head and I won't share it._

Evangeline smiled to herself as she remembered Dracula, the man had, after the ritual was finished, offered her a place at his side. The Transylvanian lord had had great plans; he was planning to travel to London where he was going to spawn an entire army of sunlight-resistant vampires. When he was ruling the world he wanted Evangeline to stand as his queen. The dark evangel didn't take him up on his offer however. She was old enough to realize where those plans would lead him and had expected Dracula to know too.

Her expectations had been correct, only a few years later the vampire hunter Abraham van Hellsing had killed Dracula in an epic battle. Evangeline had been in Japan at the time, taking advantage of her new immunity to see the world when one of her contacts had informed her of the impaler's death. The dark evangel had only laughed at the news.

Suddenly Evangeline looked up at the sky. Something was happening outside the sanctum, she could feel it in her bones. An evil greater than anything she had ever faced before was drawing near. She went back to writing, quickly writing down the story of her life during the last century. The last chapter of her book told the story of the Springfield men.

"_What is it with these men that make me__ feel like this? Nagi Springfield came into my cold life like a hurricane; uprooting everything I knew and left me confused and helpless. To him, the world was a happy place where both the good and the evil got their just rewards and with the sheer power he possessed he made it so at every turn. Still, he saved me when I was powerless and when I asked him why all he said was, "I felt like it." He even had the gall to call me Eva-chan. Yet… I still think I was happy with him, it was so long ago I can hardly recall what happiness was but I'm sure that's what I felt around him. Even when the way he made me feel made me desire to own him he still changed everything I knew by imprisoning me here. I hated him, but at the same time I was sad. Sad because I know I wouldn't see him in years. The battles we fought now feels almost like a lovers' spat to me. Did I love him? I think so…_

_But then what about his son? Where Nagi is light, Negi is shadow, where Nagi soar through the sky Negi dives into the dark ocean. The boy who desires to find his father… in the beginning I only saw him as a way out of here, years of solitude here had made me revert to my old, cold, self. But then Negi, in true Springfield style, made me loose my grip and made me yet again decide to try to live in the light. _

_Then, months later, I invited him to dance and when he accepted I marveled at his skill. He surprised me even more when he kissed me. The sheer erotic thrill of his touch was like a taste of heaven. It took all of my willpower to not give in to him. Even now I wonder how it would have been to let him touch me. That would have been the first time ever a man could touch me without me having to suppress my gag reflex upon remembering that filthy bandit. _

_Damn these men for what they do to me. I desire them both, but not in the same way. Looking back now I realize that Nagi made me happy since he was like a father to me. I lost mine centuries ago and suddenly he waltzed in and became one to me. But I desire his son as a man. The way he bears the ultimate curse, the taint, without any complaint, the sheer confidence behind his every action, everything about him makes me desire him. _

_Remembering an Old Norse legend about how the goddess of love, Freya, explained the nature of love to the king of gods, Odin, one quote sticks out especially. "True love must be a desire both for the heart and body of the other." I suppose it is like that to me… I desire Nagi's heart, to be cared for, to be comforted, held like a child, and Negi's body, to touch him, to feel him, to be with him. Together they form the one I love. _

It was then that the ancient vampire looked up in the direction of the entrance. A doll that had been standing by her side, unmoving, the entire time looked at her.

"What is it, mistress?" She asked.

"_He_'s here…" Evangeline said. She resumed her writing and added one last paragraph.

"_Now I will go towards what will probably be my last battle, I've been besieged in my cabin for hours and eventually I decided to retreat here. Now I will go to face the person who might very well end this world. One final battle for the dark evangel…_

_Evangeline McDowell_

She put down the pen and sighed. So this was how it all might end… She walked out of the building and looked towards the entrance. There, at the beginning of the bridge leading to it, a figure in a grey cloak wearing a porcelain mask stood.

"I'm happy to see that you can accept your fate, bloodsucker." The dark, echoing voice of the man in front of her said. "It would have been tiring to chase you."

"Fool…" Evangeline smirked at the man, "You don't realize where you are; do you?"

"I'm in the sanctum of an overconfident corpse."

"Yes. You're in my sanctum…" Suddenly the movement of hundreds of feet could be heard and out of nowhere, from every direction, dolls came, dolls of every kind. And all of them heavily armed. They covered the roofs, the floor, many of them even hovered. "You're in the home of the doll master." Evangeline said as she manipulated the thousands of strings that covered her fingers. "No one has ever breached this sanctum and gotten out alive." She made a sharp pull with both her hands and the dolls attacked the man all at once.

* * *

The masked figure smashed Evangeline's head into the pillar hard enough to make it crack. The vampiress grunted in pain as his grip made it feel like her head would pop off. Her sanctum was in ruins, the buildings were on fire, the library had been crushed and all around her the dolls lay. Not one of them was even partly intact. One of the dolls still moved however. Chachamaru used her arms to drag herself towards her mistress and grabbed the man's legs. 

"Forgive me mistress," the gynoid's voice crackled as the voice box was about to shut down from the damage it had sustained. "I've failed you…" was her last words before the man crushed her head under his boot. Evangeline felt anger flare up inside her and she tried free herself. The man that held her didn't seem to even notice her struggle however. He calmly raised his free hand to his mask.

"It's over bloodsucker, now, you are mine…" He removed the mask and Evangeline's eyes widened in horror as she saw what was behind it. A shapeless, oily liquid shot out from under the man's hood and wrapped itself around her. Evangeline screamed; she seemed to dissolve as the liquid covered her and in the end she was completely gone, devoured by the filth. Then the liquid retreated into the hood and the man put on his mask again.

* * *


	35. The true visage of the Demon

** Chapter 34: The true visage of the Demon  
**

**  
**

* * *

The Mahora festival is an amazing event. The school is, even at the most calm of times, a lively place where anything can happen. So if you throw a huge festival, one on the same level as the fabled Mardi Gras or the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, in this place you will awaken an incredible world. The streets of Mahora were packed with people, all of them delirious of joy as the festival started. Costumes of every kind could be seen in the streets, confetti rained from the heavens and students rushed around, giddy with excitement, to see what the festival could offer. It was a time for wild revelry and joy for the inhabitants of Mahora. A time where the school became truly magic. 

How ironic wasn't it then that, for the people who truly knew about magic, it was a time of fear. The samurai of the Gods' Cry had been unable to find the dark mage and the magic teachers of Mahora could only wait for the wicked madman to strike. They could only watch the great and glorious celebration with fear in their hearts. The demon was out there, hunting for something, and they were unable to stop him before blood would be spilt. The disappearance of Evangeline had only made them all even more nervous. Still, they all did everything they could and every available hand was now searching for him even if there was little hope of succeeding. The mage may be evil, bloodthirsty and merciless but he wasn't stupid.

However the mundane people knew nothing of this and continued their revelries. As the first day dragged on Asuna and Konoka was making their way towards their classroom. 3-A had been working on a haunted house and even if they had been a little late getting the whole thing started they had managed to finish it through a combination of hard work, conning others into helping them and a series of all-nighters. Through extensive advertising they had managed to attract quite a lot of customers and Asuna and Konoka had now been called to help out with the haunted house. The long line of eager visitors made Asuna sweatdrop as she realized that it would take hours to get all of them through it.

The haunted house was actually three different courses the customers could walk. One of them was created to be a "cute" course with small fuzzy monsters and that kind of things, "more of an "aaawww" course than an "aaahhh" course" as Chao had put it. The second was a course for couples; it was more like the classic haunted house and was designed with the goal that the girls and boys would cling to each other during the entire course. The class rep had been forced to stop Sakurako who had wanted to make a betting pool about which of the couples that took that course that would be together before the festival's ending. The third course was a pure horror course. You could only enter one at a time and during the five minutes it took to run that course you would get the scare of your life.

As Asuna walked up to one of the customers she noticed how different he was from the rest of the people lined up. He was a tall, Caucasian, man with long, silver colored, hair and a beard. His clothes consisted of heavy boots, jeans, gloves, t-shirt, a heavy vest, trench coat and a broad brimmed hat, all of it in black. His face was sharply defined and his cold grey eyes seemed to stare right through her.

"Care for a scare mister?" she asked, thinking to herself that their tagline was ridiculous.

"That's why I'm here." His voice, a hoarse tenor, sent chills down her neck. The man smiled at her however and she quickly pushed that thought aside.

"Great." She showed him the doors. "Now, what course do you want?"

"I think I'll take this one," he walked up to the scariest of the courses. Asuna wasn't surprised; he didn't look like someone who would come here to watch fluffy bunnies growling at each other nor did he bring anyone along. Asuna opened the door and he walked inside. The red-head however hurried to the end of the course where she would meet up with him. When she got there she met the class rep. The blonde was standing at one of the doors waiting.

"My, my, I'm surprised to see you here Asuna." She said, "I thought you were off hiding in a hole so you wouldn't have to work."

"Stow it Class-rep." Asuna said tiredly. "At least I don't wear an outfit that looks like the designer was high."

"O ho ho ho…" The blonds laughed, "I understand that a monkey like you gets problems with thinking out comebacks. That wasn't especially original."

"Hey listen here you little..!" They were interrupted when the man came out through one of the doors, seemingly not affected at all. If anything, he seemed amused. He walked up to Asuna and Ayaka, took off his hat, put it against his chest and bowed.

"I applaud your work ladies," he said with a dazzling smile, "You did extremely well here. True horror has always been about helplessness and you did an outstanding job in conveying it. I must recommend your work to my employer."

"Oh… I… why thank you." Ayaka was caught off guard by the man. However she bowed to him and tried to regain her composure, "It's a pleasure knowing that our customers enjoyed it."

"And I did fair lady." The man smiled, "I did. Now, perhaps I shouldn't take up more of your time. Thank you for the excellent work yet again and have a pleasant day. " With that the man put on his hat and walked off. Ayaka stared after the man.

"Who was that Asuna?" the blonde asked.

"I don't know, he…" Suddenly Asuna stared at the class-rep. Then she started to giggle.

"What?" The blonde asked. Asuna just kept on laughing. Eventually she managed to squeeze out the reason.

"And you're giving me crap about Takahata-sensei?"

"W-what?!" The class rep blushed fiercely, "What are you insinuating?!"

"I kinda get what you see in him though." Asuna continued, "He was pretty hot in the "old man" way after all."

"I did not…. You are imagining things!"

"Sure… Suuuure." It looked like Asuna's day got just a little better.

* * *

The black-clothed man had just passed a corner when he suddenly felt his master's presence from one of the alleys. He froze on the spot when he felt this. 

"What do you think you were doing?" his master asked, the man turned around and saw his master, leaning against a wall with an illusion over his features.

"Merely some sightseeing, exalted one." The man entered the alley sa to not attract any unnecessary notice.

"Within a few hours we will complete the final stage of a plan that has been in motion for decades and you are off sightseeing?" he asked mildly. "Is your personal amusement so important that you risk invoking my ire for it?"

"Now, don't be hasty, exalted one." The black-clothed man felt how fear started to seep into his heart, "I was about to head to Library Island just now, there was never any danger of me being absent."

"Tell me something Malecoda," The mere fact that his master was using his real name instead of his assumed spoke volumes. "Did I ever say you were allowed to walk off like this or did you merely delude yourself into thinking you are a free being?" The man felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"Neither, exalted one, but I did leave the area well in time to reach the chamber before the set time and…."

"Still… you did not do as I commanded, and for that…" The man paused and lifted one hand, "You will suffer."

The only reason all of Mahora didn't hear the tormented screams of the man was due to the silencing wards placed on the alley. Within this place, however, Malecoda now learned a whole new dimension of torment.

* * *

Konoka had been given pause when Asuna suddenly seemed to get better. It seemed as though her friend had recovered and now she was in a good mood again. Perhaps she didn't need to speak with Negi-sensei about it. For a few moments the young girl considered dropping the whole matter. But still… she had said that she would and she didn't want to keep him waiting for her in vain. 

She had eventually reached some sort of compromise with herself. She would go to the chamber but she would take Asuna along. Her red-headed friend was better but she apparently hadn't spoken with Negi-sensei from what she could understand. Konoka decided that Asuna seemed well enough to be able to speak with him on her own. Perhaps they could become friends again if she let her speak with him.

This was the reason she had persuaded Asuna to follow her to Library Island. The red-head had been grateful for a chance to get away from the haunted house, there had been about a hundred guys trying to get her to follow them into the "couples" course. After dozens of cheesy pick-up lines Asuna had been on the verge of punching them all in the face. Konoka's invitation had been a welcome relief.

The journey to the chamber took them through the library where, to their immense surprise, Chisame had arranged a cosplay event. When the severe girl had discovered them she had caught them and made them swear an oath of secrecy about the whole thing. After doing this they had eventually gotten away from the girl, who looked like she'd rather kill them and dump their bodies in the river to keep it a secret, and reached the chamber.

It was just as beautiful as they both remembered it; Asuna followed her friend through the chamber, the warm air and the white sand reminding her of the days she had spent here when they had tried to get that magic book. Suddenly another memory came unbidden to her. The memory of how she had stumbled and landed on top of Negi. A fierce blush spread across her face when she remembered it.

Then; suddenly, she heard something behind her. She instinctively dodged and saw a beam of energy flying past her. Spinning around, she suddenly saw the black-clothed man standing a few meters away from them. He wasn't alone however, beside him another man stood, one dressed in a gray robe with a mask covering his face.

"Nicely dodged, little one," The bearded man said, his voice suddenly having become cold as ice, "But please do yourself a favor and surrender. Hand over your friend and no one will be harmed, resist and you'll die."

"Adeat!" Asuna didn't hesitate this time, she summoned her sword and answered, "I'll tell you the same thing as all the perverts who come after her: In your dreams! Konoka, run!"

"B-but…" Konoka stared, wide-eyed, at the scene.

"Snap out of it and run!" Asuna yelled again, "Get out of here and find Setsuna!"

Konoka hesitated for another second before she turned and ran away. The black-clothed man took that opportunity to leap high into the air and punch in Konoka's direction, his punch sent a beam of energy towards the girl and it hit with a huge explosion.

"Konoka!" Asuna dashed towards her friend and found her lying unconscious, but unharmed, on the ground.

"Most impressive…" The other man said with an echoing voice and the two men drew near, "She has already developed a shield of enough strength to be merely rendered unconscious from a blow of such power. Now, perhaps we can end this farce."

Asuna felt her rage rising within her, "You…. Bastards!" She spun around and swung the blade at them, the blade was just about to hit the bearded man when suddenly the other man appeared in front of him and intercepted the blade by catching it between his hands.

"Take the target," the robed man said, "I'll deal with this one." He then punched Asuna and sent her flying into a tree. Asuna groaned as she fell down to the ground but she got to her feet and gripped the blade tightly in her hands. The black-clothed man lifted Konoka and held her in his arms.

"I will head to the chamber then, exalted one. The preparations will be done within three days."

"Stop it!" Asuna started to run towards the man but a wall of black spikes that shot out from the ground stopped her. She looked to the side and saw the robed man standing with one arm outstretched, hand hanging limply. Suddenly she saw how his fingers seemed to grow; it was as if he held some kind of sticky fluid in his hands and let it run from his fingers. Then, when his fingers had gotten nearly a meter long, they stopped to elongate and seemed to harden, become sharper as they did.

"You had your chance little girl," The man said, "And you didn't take it… so now; you die." With that, she swung his arm and Asuna widened her eyes when the fingers broke off from his hand and flew towards her. She barely dodged them and saw how they embedded themselves in the tree trunk behind her, sinking all the way into the tree as they hit. The man launched another swarm of black darts and Asuna parried remembering Katsu's words.

_Flashback:_

"_When you wield a Zanbato you need to get one thing straight," The gruff samurai said, "You are wielding a sword meant for raw destruction. If you try finesse you are an idiot. Control, yes, technique, yes, finesse, no. If you need to avoid an attack, parrying is your best option; few things pierce four inches of magical artifact steel. If you need to make an opponent loose footing, smash the ground he stands on instead of feinting him. Smash and destroy all you can but make sure it's controlled destruction."_

_End flashback: _

"_Right…"_She thought,_ "Let's smash some!"_ Asuna charged the masked man who seemingly was caught off guard by her sudden offensive. She made series of short swings like he had shown her and the robed man leapt backwards. Following after she continued to swing the blade at him but the man then bended in an impossible way and sent a flat palmed strike towards her that knocked her backwards again. He quickly held out both hands and the fingers started to elongate again. Sending a swarm of darts against her again he managed to force Asuna backwards.

* * *

In the skies above Tokyo a swarm of birds suddenly was thrown to the side by the air vent of a figure that dashed forth with incredible speed. The figure flew at quick as possible with one line on endless repeat in the head. 

"_Don't let me be too late!"_

* * *

The spikes were coming faster and faster, Asuna parried and dodged all she could but she had still been grazed by them several times. The blood now seeped slowly from dozens of small cuts and she panted. That bastard just wouldn't stand still! No matter what she tried he managed to jump away just in time to avoid the blade and give her another small cut. 

She had to stop his jumping around somehow. If she only could do that she would be able to get him. But how? No matter how she tried to corner him he only leapt away from it. She barely parried another swarm of spikes as she darted into cover trying to get some breathing space.

"Planning to lure me into and ambush little girl?" the man asked with an amused voice. "Unfortunately I'm not that naïve; I have other ways to deal with hiding people." With that he raised his hands, put them together and started to softly chant. Asuna was too far away to hear the words but then, suddenly, the ground around the tree exploded as giant spikes shot out all across it. The man's hands parted and suddenly smaller spikes shot out from the larger ones, he reached out towards the area and yet again smaller spikes shot out from the new ones. In only a second the entire area around the tree had been filled with razor sharp spikes, creating a cage of death that not even a mouse would be able to neither escape nor survive.

"And so it ends." The man said.

"Only for you!" A voice came from above. The man looked up only to see Asuna rapidly descending against him with her sword held high.

"Too little, too late." His entire arm immediately changed into a spike and he thrust it upwards. It elongated and pierced her when she was still at least five meters into the air, far beyond reaching him with her blade. Asuna's eyes widened and she went limp, impaled on the long spike

* * *

The figure travelling through the sky saw Mahora in the distance. Soon there… soon there… Had to go faster… had to go faster. 

"_Don't let me be too late!"_

* * *

The robed man lowered his arm and put Asuna down on the ground beside her blade. The red-headed girl lay still, unmoving, a red patch spreading rapidly on her chest. The man's arm reshaped into its natural shape and he walked up to her body. Her eyes were staring vacantly to the side. 

"It seems that I was mistaken about you after all, Asuna Kagurazaka…" He said, "When my black spikes tried to catch you, you immediately avoided them in a way that couldn't be anything other than instinct. And you even turned it into an attack your Zanbatou would have given you an immense advantage at. That was no something a weakling could have done."

"Damn straight!" Asuna suddenly was on her feet in a flash and before the man could react she had grabbed the blade and swung it at him. Not even the unnatural agility of the robed man could fully save him now and one arm was cut off as the giant blade cut through cloth, flesh and bone.

Asuna immediately followed up with another swing but the man suddenly grabbed her throat.

"Again and again you climb higher and higher Asuna Kagurazaka." His voice hadn't changed the least from having his arm cut off. "You flawlessly adapt and use your opponents' arrogance against them in order to win whatever victory you can achieve. Commendable indeed but this is the true end." He threw her against the wall and held out his hand towards her.

A swarm of black spikes, not five a time but dozens, hundreds, shot out against her and Asuna closed her eyes as she saw it.

"Oh no you don't!" a voice suddenly echoed through the hall and a man appeared in front of her just before a giant thunderbolt struck the ground in front of him, forming a wall of lightning that incinerated the spikes with a deafening crack. Asuna's eyes had become unfocused from the blood-loss but she saw the read hair of the man and the robe he wore.

"N…Negi…" She croaked, "Wh-where the hell have you been?"

"Almost but not quite, princess…" The man panted, his voice was definitely not Negi's. It was darker, more mature. And the face that was turned to look at her was one she had seen only once before, in her dreams. The man that now kneeled and put a hand on her wound invoking a healing spell was none other that Nagi Springfield, the Thousand Master.

* * *

Nagi was exhausted, he didn't know how long he had flown or how fast but it was enough to leave him panting. The mad dash from the portal in Himalaya had finally led him to Mahora only to see his little princess in a pool of blood with some robed "villain-wannabe" trying to impale her. However the cut-off arm lying near him showed Nagi enough to know that she had fought back. 

"_She'll make a fine ministra one day."_He remembered Albiero's words from that day in Istanbul as he tried to stop the blood flow, the barrier ensuring that the robed man wouldn't try anything more.

"You…" Asuna said her; voice so different from then. "You're…"

"Better not talk princess." He interrupted her, "You're pretty short on blood and I'm not as good on this as I could be. Let me just finish up this and kick that guy into orbit and then we can talk, right?"

"Watch out… he… makes those spikes with his body… he can reach out as far as he wants to." Asuna pressed forth between clenched teeth. At that moment Nagi couldn't have been prouder over her. He stood up and stroked her hair before spinning around and removed the barrier. The man had taken up his arm and seemingly managed to reattach it, even the cloth had repaired itself. On the whole he seemed to be just as cold as before.

"It seems like Mahora's tendency for unexpected things to happen reaches even these catacombs." He said as he flexed the reattached arm. "I would never have expected the Thousand Master to show up. And all for one girl… seems like I made a mistake when I wrote her off as inconsequential when you were concerned. Despite the reports it just didn't seem like you to be after her ability."

"Ability shmability." Nagi said as he clenched his teeth, "The only thing I have ever wanted with that stuff is to save her from it! I though you would have gotten that by now."

"Then tell me…" The man said, "Why go to such lengths to save one person considering that you said yourself that you would always help as many as possible, that quote has become famous. As it is now you ignore a world of suffering just for the sake of one child."

"Isn't that obvious?" Nagi said, these guys were incredible, they just couldn't get it. "I love her… like she's my daughter… She is my daughter, in everything but blood."

For a moment the man was silent, then he begun to chuckle.

"Beautiful…" He said amusedly as he clapped his hands, "Truly fitting of your reputation, Thousand Master. Allow me to reward you for such beautiful words." He reached into his robe and took out something. With a swing of his arm he sent it flying towards the red-headed man who caught it and looked at it. Asuna had gotten to her feet and saw what the robed man had thrown to Nagi. When she saw it she fell down again.

"No…" She said; her face filled with despair, "No, no, no… It… It can't be…" She pointed at the bloodied and broken ring that lay in Nagi's hand, "That's Negi's ring!"

"Indeed." The robed man said, "And now it is yours. See it as a memento of the boy that was your son in blood only."

* * *

_Flashback:_

"_W-w-wait a second…" Nagi held up his hands, "Would you mind running that by me again?" He asked his companion, the grizzled kanka master Gateau._

"_You're a father." Gateau repeated. "It seems like your fling with that girl in Wales left her pregnant. You have a boy… he's five years now, named Negi."_

_Nagi stood completely still for a few seconds before his mind shut down and he fell backwards._

_End flashback:_

A child… a boy. He had become a father. He hadn't been able to comprehend it, he couldn't be a father; he was just twenty-three years old. But he was… he had a child now. That time he had been terrified by it though. If he would have gone to seek out his child he had felt that he would lose his freedom. Become a housebound nobody. The prospect had caused him to flee from it all.

_Flashback:_

"_Asuna is asleep now." Gateau said as he sat down by the fire, lighting one of his cigarettes. "Even if she doesn't shows it she was really exhausted."_

"_Yea, we've had a rough couple of days now." Nagi agreed, "Who would have thought the dragon would get that pissed?"_

"_They do tend to get angry when you steal something from them." Albiero remarked, "I still think we should have tried to negotiate."_

"_Bah!" Nagi grinned, "It worked out, why dwell on it?"_

"_You're incorrigible…" Gateau sighed. _

"_Damn straight!"_

_"I just hope Negi doesn't inherit that." Albiero remarked as he stirred the coals. "I don't think the world could handle two of you."_

_Nagi fell quiet after this and the others quickly noticed it. Eishun, who had been quiet up until now, spoke up at this._

"_He won't disappear just because you don't think of him, you know." The Japanese swordsman said softly, "He exists, and he is your son. You can't escape it."_

"_Meh…" Nagi looked up with a grin, "It's all right. What can I do?"_

"_Perhaps a better question is; what will you do?" Gateau said._

_I don't know… I suppose nothing." Seeing the disapproving faces of the people around him he continued, "What? You really think I'm daddy material? Besides, we still have to help Asuna."_

"_I'm not suited for the role of a father either." Eishun said, "But I will still do anything I can for my Konoka's sake." _

"_Hey, I should probably go and try to see if I can find anything to catch, we're running low on food anyway." Nagi suddenly said as he got up from the campfire and headed out into the night, away from the disapproving eyes of his companions._

_End flashback:_

His relationship to Gateau had never really recovered from that time. Even if the old man had kept following him he had, after that day been much stiffer, much more formal. Eishun had also become more hesitant around him. However he had in his ignorance kept traveling on, pretending that Negi hadn't even existed. If it hadn't been for that time he'd still not accepted it.

_Flashback:_

"_You really have a lovely daughter Thousand Master." The old woman, who had agreed to house them for a few days while they waited for Eishun to heal, said. "Her mother must have been beautiful."_

_Nagi got his food in the wrong throat and started to cough violently. The coughing continued for the better part of a minute before he could speak again. _

"_She's not my daughter…" He said, "She's an orphan. I'm not father material anyway." He waved his hand dismissively. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the head. He looked up and saw the woman standing with a frying pan in her hand._

"_Ow! What was that about?" he said as he rubbed his head._

"_That was for being stupid." The woman said, "Not father material? Is that why you told a bedtime story to that girl? Is that why you've spent the last days playing with her?" She shook her head before turning around, "Not father material…" She scoffed again as she headed inside. "Some people…"_

_Nagi was left outside the house looking off into the distance, the pain in his head forgotten due to the pain in his heart. _

_End flashback: _

The old woman had stripped away his excuses and shoved the truth into his face. He had no excuse for leaving Negi, his child without a father. The next days he had been contemplating what to do. He found that he had to go to his son, he had to see him. However he still had to deal with the curse that Asuna suffered under. Also knowing that he might die Nagi eventually tried to make a compromise with himself.

_Flashback:_

"_Takamichi has already left." Albiero said, "He and Asuna are heading for Mahora as we speak, I'll go after them as soon as you've gone through the portal."_

"_Good," Nagi said, "Just promise me you'll make sure she's safe."_

"_I will." Albiero said and noticed that the sun was rising. "Five minutes left now."_

"_Hey Al?" Negi suddenly said, "Can I ask a favor of you?"_

"_That depends on the favor."_

"_It's Negi…" Nagi said, "I want to leave a message for him."_

"_You finally decided to acknowledge him?" Nagi nodded. _

"_I should have left for Wales the first thing I did when I heard of him. I was a freaking coward."_

_Albiero's lips curled in a slight smile at this. "So what will you do?"_

"_When I come back from the other world I will go to him the first thing I do. I'll give him this," he held up his staff, "and tell him I have no right to ask for his forgiveness but I'm still sorry for not being there for him."_

"_Sounds good." Albiero smiled even wider. "And my message?"_

"_In case I don't make it I want him to know what I just told you."_

"_Okay." Albiero summoned his artifact and a brilliant light enveloped them both._

_End flashback:_

Unable to find any way to circumvent the curse he had decided to face the cause of it head on, armed with the most powerful spells in existence and empowered by the Silver Star, a mighty artifact capable of empowering even the most basic spell to epic levels he had challenged the demon king in combat. But he had still been just a mortal facing a god. He paid dearly for his arrogance and whad been forced to flee from the battle.

_Flashback: _

_Nagi panted as he looked carefully around the corner, he felt the taste of blood in his mouth and saw that the pursuers seemed to have lost trail of him. He desperately tried to figure out what to do next. The demon king had been too damn powerful. He hadn't stood a chance against Malfeas who now was hounding him._

"_Where is he?!" he heard one of the tracker demons yell. "Where?"_

"_Nowhere! Nowhere!" Another yelled._

"_Find him!" The echoing voice of Malfeas roared, "Find him or I will unmake you all!"_

"_Nowhere! Nowhere!" The trackers yelled. A rumbling sound could be heard before a dozen shrill voices cried out in horror as they fell apart. _

"_Thousand Master!" Malfeas' voice shook the mountains, "You really think running will help you? It won't! Stay in these mountains if you please, I have other ways of getting to you! How about the girl you traveled with? Or what about your son?! The boy you abandoned? Do you really think being in the mortal world will be any protection for them? I will destroy them all and hang their bodies from the ramparts!" Nagi's heart froze as the demon laughed, "I won't kill you Thousand Master; I'll make you live through endless pain. You will see, Thousand Master… you will see…" With that a blinding flash erupted from the demon-king's direction as it teleported away. _

_Nagi felt how terror gripped him. Asuna would be all right, Albiero and Takamichi were with her but Negi… No, no! He fumbled through his torn clothes and dragged out the black card. Summoning the upper class demon he had forced into becoming his guide in this infernal world he desperately formulated a plan in his head, _

"_Oh my, you certainly seem to have had a hard time master." The demon said referring to his torn clothes and bloody face._

"_Shut up!" Nagi croaked, "I command you! You will go to my world and find my son! You will ensure that he survives whatever Malfeas tries! I command you!"_

_End flashback: _

In a moment of panic he had desperately sent the demon Malecoda, which he had managed to enslave, to look after his son. That, however, had been that last thing he could do before the demon king had erected an iron blockade of the mountains; hordes of demons had encircled it and kept him there. Ten years… ten years he had spent in that place, only just surviving. The only thing that kept him alive and sane was Negi, his promise to seek out his son.

_Flashback: _

_Nagi saw the portal open and clenched his fists… ten years… ten years in this infernal place…he dashed through the portal and fell head-first down into the snow. As he felt the cold, white powder under his hands his eyes started to mist up. At last… at last! He fell down to the ground sobbing in relief. But suddenly his head snapped up and he pulled out a white card, the pactio card he had made with Albiero. _

"_Al!" He thought as he held up the card towards his head._

"_Nagi?!" Al's voice sounded in his head, "You're back!"_

"_Negi! Is he all right?!"_

"…" _The only thing that could be heard on Albiero's end was silence._

"_Al!"_

"_You better get to Mahora… Much has happened. And you better get here as soon as possible, there's a dark mage on the loose, he might be after Asuna."_

_Nagi was airborne before Albiero had finished._

_End flashback:_

* * *

"Who would have thought someone so young could endure so much pain…?" The robed man mused, his echoing voice carving into Nagi's soul with every word. The Thousand Master was staring at the ring. His mind still reeling from the news, "And even in the end the only words spoken were, "I'm sorry, I failed". Be proud Thousand Master. Few are blessed with such a son." 

"Damn you…." Nagi whispered. He clenched the ring in his hand. Negi… he was dead…. His son was dead… the boy he promised to make everything up to had died.

"It's a pity you never cared," the robed man continued, "such a waste on your part. It would have been a story worthy to be told if you had been there, been a father. The great father and the great son."

"Damn you…" Nagi said again, too devastated to do anything else. It was too late… He would never see him, never speak to him, never tell him how much he had longed to see him. It was all taken away.

"But now it is too late. Too late for anything."

Nagi saw his son in front of him. A young man with his hair, his face, but with her eyes and mouth, desperately defending himself from the masked man's attacks. Despite wielding magic greater than anyone at his age a black spike suddenly shot through his barrier and, before he could do anything, pierced his chest. His brown eyes widened in pain and shock before the lips formed his final words.

"_I'm sorry, I failed."_

"Damn you!" the air around Nagi suddenly exploded with energy. The Thousand Master looked up at the robed man with his face twisted in fury. "Damn you, you murderer!" Nagi suddenly disappeared as he dashed towards the robed man with his fist raised. He had reached the point where everything now existed in terrible clarity. No hesitation, no doubt. The man in front of him would die! That one truth burned in his head burning, throbbing, screaming. He would die!

Nagi swung his fist at the masked man with incredible force, a glowing comet enveloped in enough magic to make the ground tear up as the air-vent reached it, but the fist was interrupted as the man caught it, the gloved hand intercepting Nagi's full fury. An explosion rocked the chamber as the power in the punch was still enough to send them both sliding along the ground. The robed slid backwards, his hand in an iron grip around Nagi's fist, and crashed into the wall but still didn't loose the grip. They ended up with their faces only a few inches from each other.

"What's this?" The robed man asked, staring into Nagi's furious face, not moving an inch. "The Thousand Master pretends that he cares? What is your agenda this time? Trying to conceal the fact that you abandoned your son? Trying to pretend you are a loving father in front of the girl that took his place?"

"Shut up you murderer!" Nagi's rage only rose. He tore away his fist and summoned a gigantic swarm of glowing arrows before he unleashed a rain of strikes against the man, each punch accompanied by a dozen arrows and pounding him deeper into the wall, making the cracks run further along it. The wall suddenly gave away under the supernatural strain and collapsed. Nagi only just got away from the rock fall before it crashed down upon him. His opponent pulled at his robe and it seemed to expand as it darted above him and formed a shield that blocked the avalanche.

"I applaud your passion, Thousand Master," the robe made a flicking motion, sending the rocks flying far away, "but you're not convincing me." The man raised his hands and the robe expanded behind him, covering the air around him like the feathers of a peacock. A hail of black darts shot out from the cloak, flying towards Nagi who got out of the way just in time. The tree behind him was pierced to thousands of black arrows and was torn to shreds in a second. The robed man looked up just in time to see Nagi above him, his hands glowing with magic.

"Manman Teroterro. Lightning void, connect now, Axe of Zeus!" Swinging his arm he sent a giant bolt of lightning towards the man. The very air burned under the force of the spell as it collided with the man and sent a shockwave through the entire chamber. The very ground was town apart and the water raged all around the once so peaceful chamber.

When the light faded and Nagi could see him opponent all he saw was the cloak that had wrapped itself around the masked man. Encasing him in a protective shell and rendering the spell utterly ineffective. The cloak unwrapped and the man's hands shot out to the side as gigantic spikes erupted from the ground and tore through the sky against Nagi. Desperately dodging the spikes Nagi eventually had to get out of the sky and shot towards the robed man with a mid-air shundo. His opponent disappeared too, using the art of moving faster than any eye could perceive, and Nagi's charge struck into the ground, shattering both it and the spikes around it.

As black shards of dark magic rained down around him Nagi charged again and before the robed man could get away he was right in front of him. Nagi's fist shot out against his opponent's face but only grazed the porcelain mask as the man dodged with inhuman agility. Before Nagi could follow the man kicked him in the gut and sent a flat-palmed strike against his face. Despite having lost his breath from the kick Nagi still avoided it and regained the initiative with a knee into his opponent's chest.

The very air crackled around the two men as they exchanged blow after blow, each one powerful enough to shatter steel but neither of the two men betrayed any hint of the least exhaustion. The robed man suddenly jumped and spun around, his feet crashing into Nagi's face and sending him flying away. The thousand master spun around in mid-air and landed on his feet. Instead of charging again he begun to chant.

"Forgotten spirits of lightning and rain. Whisper your final calls before the world itself forget you too. Spread forth and make your last time on this earth be joyful, Epitaph of the Fallen Gods!"

If the air had been crackling before it was scintillating now. All around the Thousand Master giant orbs of thunder and lightning appeared. The robed man raised his hands when he saw the spell and rows of giant spikes shot out in front of him, forming a series of protective walls. But as the giant balls of lightning shot away towards him, dashing forwards like a rain of comets, it proved futile. The rain of thunder tore through the first wall in half a second and the rest of his protections went down even faster. Finally it pierced the last wall and the man was hit, head on, with thousands of giant bolts of thunder.

The sound of the impact was deafening. Nagi's giant spell – perhaps even as powerful as the spell as the one Asuna remembered Negi using in Kyoto – impacted and made the ground shake, parts of the ceiling came crashing down around them and the very air seemed to burn as the Thousand Master unleashed his full fury his opponent. Against the man who had showed him the fate of the boy he had spent the last ten years longing for. It was like a nuclear detonation on ground level.

"Die you bastard!" Nagi's voice could be heard even over the roar of the titanic spell that was currently drilling into its target, completely incinerating it. "Die!"

Eventually the spell ceased, the hail of thunderbolts ceasing. A deafening silence blanketed the chamber, broken only by Nagi's ragged breathing and the sounds of falling detritus landing around them. High above, near the roof, clouds were forming thanks to the evaporated water that had been kicked up during the struggle, the heavy clouds blocked out whatever had been lighting up the chamber and the light dimmed. Soon the rain begun to fall, a heavy downpour gushed down around them. The thousand Master fell to his knees, utterly exhausted. The rage was gone, replaced with grief, heart wrenching grief.

Why… why did he have to die?... His son, his only son… the boy he had promised to see. To be there for. He was gone… dead… Why did his son have to die?

"Negi…" He felt the first sob escape him. The sobs only became more and more intense and soon the Thousand Master was weeping like a child, the grief over his wasted life overwhelming him. All his powers, all his accomplishments. It all fell down dead around him, worth less than nothing to the man that had lost him only child. It should have been him… the Thousand Master thought. Malfeas should have killed him! Not Negi!

Then, suddenly, a clapping noise broke through the silence. Through the heavy rain that fell around them the chamber Nagi saw a figure approach.

"Worthy of your name Thousand Master." A voice said, it sounded like the man's but it was no longer echoing. It sounded more natural now but it was too cold, too grim, to be the voice of a normal person. "That is the legacy your children must contend with." The figure came out through the haze, his clothes were torn and the mask was cracked in several places. As he spoke it fell off him piece by piece. "Either they must find a way to surpass you," the lower part of the mask fell off, revealing pale, unmarred, skin and a pair of thin lips, "Or they must become anathema to everything you are," the uppermost part fell away, revealing deep red, unruly, hair, "Thing is though…" The last pieces fell off, revealing brown eyes, once warm and caring but now cold as ice, "For me, either wasn't the only choice. Amusing, isn't it?" Negi Springfield said to his father.

* * *


	36. Unstoppable Evil

**Chapter 35: Unstoppable evil**

* * *

Breaking out of hell itself, dashing across the world despite being exhausted, finding the little girl you love in a pool of her own blood, finding your son dead. The result is anger, grief, hate, shame, the entire spectrum of negative emotions will haunt you, tear at you. 

But when the man you thought killed your son and nearly killed the girl turns out to be your son you would be struck with the most primal of all emotions: horror.

Nagi's mind refused to cooperate. He stood frozen as his son approached. Had he been in a more clear-minded state he would have seen how similar the boy was to him. How the unruly hair was his exactly, how those brown eyes should have been like his mother's if they hadn't been so unnaturally ice-cold. He would have seen much, but now he couldn't even begin to comprehend these facts. His mind was in shambles and his soul was screaming in denial at the sight.

Asuna wasn't much better off. Her heart had shattered upon seeing that ring. She just couldn't comprehend that Negi was dead. It had been impossible for her to understand. How could anyone have killed him? She just hadn't been able to comprehend it.

And now these two people, both people who cared deeply for the young man, saw his in front of them… as the man that had tried to kill Asuna.

"Hello father…" Negi said; his voice even more terrible now that it was clear who had been wearing that mask all the time. It was so cold… so lifeless… like it wasn't a part of him but something crudely stitched on to him to give him some resemblance of humanity. "You look worn… ten years in hell. It's a testament to your will that you didn't die." Nagi couldn't move as the man in front of him, his son, came up to him and reached for his cheek.

In an almost gentle gesture the younger Springfield caressed it before his hand slowly slid down to his father's neck. The other hand lifted his father's and placed it against his own heart. In that position they remained for a while, to the casual observer it would have seemed like an affectionate scene. The only thing breaking it was the eyes. Nagi's: filled with despair and disbelief, showing how he fought against the shock to make his body move. Negi's: cold, dead, inhuman and monstrous.

"What's the matter, father?" Negi eventually asked, "Your hand is within my barrier, all you need to do is think to unleash a spell and I'll be instantly killed. One thought and you'll stop me. You hold victory in your hand… seize it." Nagi couldn't move; his thoughts were still in shambles.

"What are you waiting for?" Negi continued, "You are the Thousand Master… you've killed dozens of dark mages before. What are you waiting for...?" Nagi slowly regained some control of himself. His head started to slowly shake. He shook his head trying to desperately convey his disbelief and anguish.

"Very well…" Negi said as he let go of the hand and suddenly clenched the other hand as he begun to choke the life out of his father. "Your choice; but you better be prepared to deal with the consequences. They are death of all you love…" he continued as he forced his father down on his knees, "… that the world as you know it will be destroyed, and that it will all be your fault for not stopping me." The hand tightened around Nagi's throat and suddenly Asuna started to hear cracking noises from the man's neck. That was enough to snap her out of it.

"Negi!" She screamed. Nagi snapped back to reality too and regained the use of his limbs. He desperately grabbed his son's arms and tried to escape his grip, tried to get free.

"Too late…" Negi said, his eyes, supposed to be so similar to the sweet girl he had loved, were cold as death as he tightened the grip. "You refused to seize the opportunity. But don't worry, I'll send her after you. You will have ample company in the afterlife."

Nagi felt his vision start to get blurry. His arms lost strength and went limp. Negi's grip was like the reaper himself held onto his throat. His hand crushed him, the hand he never held, the boy he never showed the ways of the world. The first contact would be his last. The promises were falling, falling like leaves from a tree and his tree was bare, dying, coughing, barely holding onto life. He would die… choked to death by his own son. Before he had any chance to do what he had promised himself to do. Before he could tell him everything he wanted to tell him.

"Take this with you to the afterlife, Thousand Master." Negi said, "The world could have been saved, but you were too weak."

"_I'm sorry Negi…" _was Nagi's last thought before everything went black and he fell into the void.

* * *

Asuna's eyes were filled with tears as Negi loosened his grip on Nagi and threw him through the air. His father fell limply to the ground, unmoving. The man Negi had spoken of in reverent tones lay still, blue marks appearing on his throat. She dashed towards him, stumbling as she moved, and reached him. Her mind was in shambles, she was once again a little girl. She was too devastated to do anything else but revert to childhood, to the little girl who had journied with him. 

"Nagi?" she whispered, her body frozen, falling to her knees so his worn cloak could comfort her, "Nagi…" She pulled at the cloak to wake him. "Nagi!" Her voice rose a little higher, her body shivered, giving off the warning for the tears, when the brain would realise what she was seeing and fearing was true. "Nag.." She started to cry, her haggard breath, like a magic spell, made her unable to form anything resembling words.

"What a pitiful ending…" Negi turned to face his father's lifeless body and the girl beside it as he started to walk against Asuna, his arm yet again shaping into a black blade. "He was no hero, he failed. Now;" the sword glittered as black drops of tainted blood ran down it, coating it in a sheet of vileness "perhaps we can continue where we left off." He raised the arm as he closed the distance between them, every step beating against the ground. She sought out his eyes and found nothing. He was nothing, merely a piece of the void, a pawn of a vindictive uncaring power that had taken the Negi she knew and left the shell.

"Why?!" Asuna screamed, giving voice to all of her grief, all of her confusion and despair. "Why?!"

"It's vengeance." He said, "Vengeance for what he did." Suddenly his arm stabbed forward and pierced trough her shoulder. Asuna screamed in pain as the filthy creation lifted her off the knees and nailed her to the tree behind her. "But know this, I'm not a monster, nor do I fear to explain my actions." The black blade separated from his arm, and he pulled it back creating a new one. "Ask for it, and I'll kill you." He stabbed forwards again, this time piercing the other shoulder. "But if you don't, I'll tell you."

"Who do you think sent those demons after me?" He asked as his arm reformed yet again. "I'll tell you, they weren't sent by any enemy of his, they weren't out to kill me." Negi's fingers elongated, forming those long black spikes. The cold-eyed young man reached out and stroked her belly with the spikes. Asuna stared into his eyes, not even noticing as the razor sharp blades cut her open effortlessly. She could only stare at him but then he drove the spikes into her spine, making her legs loose all feel and going limp under her, the pain in the shoulders only intensified as she now was held up by them only. Asuna finally looked down.

She saw blood rushing out… her gut was open… all that blood… no, not just blood, her intestines… Why was she seeing her intestines! Pain exploded through her and the tears were now equal parts pain and grief. She looked at him through clouded eyes, trying to find something in them. She didn't even search for Negi anymore, just something, pity, contempt, hate, anything other than that cold void.

"They were sent by him." Negi said as he grabbed her head, the words shouldn't have mattered; she was supposed to be delirious with pain. But she registered every word he said, as if the entire world echoed from his words. Her scalp started to bleed as the spikes pushed through the skin, running alongside the cranium, back towards the tree behind her. The blood gushed down her head, into her eyes, blinding her. Eventually they burst through the skin and pierced the tree too, nailing her skull to the tree. Another scream echoed through the chamber.

* * *

The twin samurai dashed through the halls, both of them on full alert. They had been wandering Mahora, looking for any available traces of the dark mage, when they had both felt an immense surge of energy from below; the ground had started to shake and, for a moment, panic had nearly erupted at the festival. Fortunately it had never gotten that far, the teachers had managed to calm them down and the revelries could continue. But the two samurai were certain of one thing, where the surge had taken place, the dark mage would be. 

Motoko and Katsu both had their hands on their swords as they reached the end of the chamber; their experience with these things allowed them to immediately pick up the clinging feeling in the air, evidence of dark magic.

"Damn it stinks here!" Katsu hissed as they both hid behind a tree. The stench was worse than anything he had ever felt before. Worse than even that time in Aokigahara when he had lost nearly all of his men to a horde of tainted ogres. He didn't even feel the exhilaration of imminent battle here; only the grim determination that imminent death gave him, just like that time.

"Whomever we're dealing with is not just a fool who wanted to be powerful." Motoko said as she took out a charm, "If anything we can assume he already knows we're after him."

"Yes," Katsu agreed. He liked this about the young girl; she never hesitated to act when it was necessary. "You go high, I go low, charm goes in the middle. The center is about fifty meters in."

"Go!" The two samurai disappeared, Motoko dashed sideways into the sky, furiously chanting. and, when the last word was spoken, sending the talisman towards the area. It transformed to a swarm of paper swallows that darted towards their destination with immense speed. When she reached the peak of her ascent she spun around and used a mid-air shundo to launch herself towards the same area, sword at the ready. Katsu waited half a second before he too exploded into motion, he used a rapid succession of shundos to get around the tree and dash towards the area, all the time he went in low, his head only two feet from the ground. The Tiger-Dragon move was one they had had great use for several times. This way Katsu attacked low and from the left while Motoko went in high from the right. With the added paper swallows to confuse the victim it was a move that few escaped.

"Evil-Cutting-Blade!"

"Beast-Fang-Cut!"

The two voices cried out in perfect unison as they attacked the dark mage. At the speeds they were going it was hard to perceive any details but they both clearly saw that the figure leapt away from them with incredible speed. They both missed him with a hair's breadth and the figure leaped up on a branch. It was then that Kastu and Motoko saw the scene in front of them. A few feet away a body lay, blue marks on the throat making the cause of death evident, but it was what was resting against the tree behind the body that made them both gasp.

Against the tree, fixed in place by black spikes, the body of Asuna Kagurazaka hung. Her body was pierced by spikes of the same type that had been used to kill the janitor, only that here there was dozens of then, the young girl's body had been turned to a pincushion.

Her arms were sticking up from her body, fixed in place by spikes through the palms and blood seeping down them, colouring the white shirt crimson red. Her legs hung limply, the spikes jutting out from her open gut having pierced her spine. The intestines were dangling from the open hole in her stomach and the heart was exposed. Her head, which should have been hanging limply, had several needles sticking out from the skin, obviously having gone through the skin and pierced into the tree. This had made the face stretch back and making it a twisted grimace.

"Sweet Kami-sama…" Motoko whispered. The sight was horrifying; the look on the young girl's face was enough to tell them both that she must have suffered beyond belief. But the horror they both felt upon seeing that sight couldn't compare to that which came when they both noticed that her chest was still heaving slightly. She was still breathing! She was still alive! She had been alive during all that! Katsu moved on instinct as he pulled out a talisman and put it on her. Chanting furiously he sent her into a magic sleep trying to spare her any more of the pain.

"She's strong…" A soft but cold voice said behind them as they both spun around. Upon one of the branches high above them they both saw the unmistakeable face of Negi Springfield. The young man was looking down on them with dead eyes. "Despite all that I did to her she did not ask for death. Despite being kept alive so long she did not give up."

The young mage walked off the branch and dropped to the ground, falling through the sky. Right before he landed the robe he was dressed in grew and elongated as it formed a spiral under him, letting him land unharmed. "And she fought well, very well." The dark mage looked at them both, neither of them recognizing anything of the boy they knew. "I recognized the Zanbatou technique. Was she my replacement, Takahashi-sensei? Did you see the same thing in her as my father did? No matter… she's beyond being useful now."

Katsu loved Negi. Even if the gruff man never said it he considered the boy the closest thing he had to a son. The endless willpower and the passion of the young Welshman had impressed him from day one and he had actually been sad to let him go.

However the man who wore the nickname of "Black Thunder" hadn't survived his entire life in Aokigahara through being sappy. He was realistic enough to realize what had happened here. Still holding the charm against the young girl's mutilated body he let go of it and closed her eyes with his hand. Asuna's shallow, quick, breaths slowed down and the slight tremors that had been going through her maimed body ceased. He took one last look at her body and before Negi had time to speak one more word his old teacher's blades were only a few inches from his skull and Motoko right behind him.

* * *

What separated the two samurai from the Thousand Master was their experience with the taint. Katsu had spent almost his entire life in a forest filled with tainted beings; from the day he could walk his life had been a struggle against them. Motoko, even if she couldn't claim that sort of experience had several times been in a situation where beings infected by the taint had nearly taken everything from her. The blade she carried was originally a tainted sword before she had managed to seal it; it had nearly caused the deaths of the people that mattered most to her. 

Their lives had given them the experience and the resolve to see what had to be done. The man they both fought wasn't Negi. It was a horrid travesty of him, what you got if you removed every last vestige of humanity and filled the void with the soulless evil of the inhabitants of the ninth hell. It was an insult. Both to the hard-working young boy Katsu had taught and to the noble young man who had sought Motoko's aid in sealing the taint. They had both seen the soul of a great man when they met him and now it had been twisted to darkness.

This was why they both fought so hard. Katsu roared as he unleashed a swarm of powerful strikes against Negi, each of the swings leaving trails glowing with energy. The dark mage leaped backwards and upwards and when Katsu followed, his swords still in a blur of motion the young mage grabbed the hem of the left sleeve on his robe with the right hand and pulled. The sleeve elongated and he swirled it before him, the motions almost similar to how his student Makie used her ribbon.

The cuts all fell upon the grey cloth, effortlessly ripping through the fabric but it immediately reformed and allowed its wearer to escape unharmed. Right when Katsu finished swinging the blades against him Negi moved immediately, seemingly knowing exactly when the assault would end, and stabbed his arm against the old samurai, the hand having changed into a crescent blade. Katsu immediately bent backwards but the arm was too fast.

The hand stopped only a few inches from Katsu's throat. Motoko had taken this moment to grab their opponent's neck with her legs. The female samurai made two fast spins and sent Negi into the ground which shattered from the power of the impact. Motoko was still airborne as she focused and sent a powerful bolt of lightning from her sword towards the crater, a fireball unleashed from Katsu's blades accompanied the attack.

The two samurai's eyes suddenly widened when they had unleashed the attacks. Before they could react they were both struck from behind with a powerful punch that sent them flying towards the ground. They both managed to land on their feet but when they looked upwards Negi was already chanting.

"Rhactul Mactor Machites," Even his activation key had been twisted, "Let the ground be stained red with the blood of the innocent. Fall, crimson downpour, and herald the end of all things. Let all that is pure be forever marked and corrupted. Rain of tainted blood." Negi took a deep breath and blew out a giant cloud of oily smoke that quickly spread to cover most of the room. Katsu's eyes widened.

"Shit…" was all he had time to say before the blood started to fall, a red deluge corrupting and tainting all in its path.

* * *

Above the giant clouds that now spat out a rain of tainted blood towards the ground Negi hovered with his eyes closed and his hands held together. It would have seemed like he was praying had not an aura of black magic stood around him. Nothing tangible but still obvious to anyone. The very air seemed rotten around him. Like reality itself became infected by him. 

This was in incredibly sharp contrast to his face. The young man had always had a face that had, from an early age, earned him many looks from the female half of humanity. But as it were he was flawless. His appearance couldn't be described in any language other than that it was too beautiful to be natural. These opposites, his unnatural beauty and the air of vileness around him, cried out his inhumanity to the world.

The dark mage suddenly opened his eyes and threw out his arms to the sides, dispersing the clouds below him. Below him the ground had been twisted into a nightmare by the spell. The once clear water was now a murky, reddish-brown colour and seemed to have clotted to become a greasy substance more reminiscent of oil than anything else. The tall, healthy trees were now blackened and dead, the leaves having wasted away. The white sand was darkened to become black as night itself and seemingly melted into razor-sharp shards of glass-like material.

It was then that two giant beams of light crashed into him and knocked him out of the air. Negi fell from the sky and had only just recovered when he was struck again. Blast after blast struck him and even if he managed to parry them with his robes he was too distracted to notice the person behind him before it was too late.

"Blazing heat in the sky!" Negi turned around just in time to be engulfed by a titanic blast of fire. The grey cloak didn't even have time to protect its owner before the flames reached and swallowed it.

A few dozen meters from him a girl hovered with her hands reaching out against him. She held her breath as she looked against the firestorm she just had unleashed. Had she done it? Did she get him?! For a few seconds the girl dared to hope; for the first time in her life she truly hoped. Then she suddenly felt a terrifying presence behind her.

Negi Springfield had somehow gotten in behind her. The dark make hovered behind her back, his robes out to the sides, making him appear like a black cloud of death. The girl's heart froze to ice, before she had any time to react Negi stabbed a single finger into her spine, the appendage shaped into a long needle. She froze as her entire body was paralyzed. Negi leaned forwards and put his mouth only a few inches from her ear.

"So that was your secret…" His voice terrified her more than anything else. It was really that demon's voice; nothing was left of the man she had hoped was in there. His smooth, unblemished hand clutched around her neck. "Perhaps I should have paid more attention to you… No matter, now you die too." With impossible strength he threw her like a rag doll towards the ground. The girl couldn't move a finger as she fell towards the ground. It couldn't be… after all this… She had failed… Everyone who had died for this had died in vain... She had failed!

_Flashback:_

_She screamed as the boy she loved more than anything fell apart in front of her eyes. She was about to try to reach him but stopped right before her hands touched the field separating them. The dark mage pulled his hand out of the young man's body and as he did this his victim collapsed into dust immediately. _

"_I am impressed…" The smooth voice of the dark mage said; his voice totally devoid of emotions, "You all put up much more of a fight than I expected… No matter, now you die too." He raised his hand and fired a beam of blood red light against her; the girl instinctively raised her arms to protect herself._

_End flashback: _

She had been just as powerless as then. She hadn't been able to do anything.

Suddenly she felt a sharp yank as she was caught by a pair of strong hands. Her eyes opened wide and she saw a pair of giant wings, the needle in her spine still petrified her so she couldn't turn around to see who it was that held her but she realized who it was.

"S-setsuna-san…" She whispered.

* * *

The one thing that had stopped Negi from slaying the girl and her saviour was the fact that the barrage had resumed. He realised that he was a sitting duck and with a mid-air shundo he reached the ground in a second. Flipping around, he landed on his feet effortlessly and looked around. As he expected several figures charged him immediately. The first figure, a bearded man in a black suit and with sunglasses raised his hands and rapidly snapped his fingers, each snap sending an arc of destructive wind magic against him. 

Negi's eyes got a distant look in them as he effortlessly moved between the arcs, not one of them even grazing him. When the bearded man came close Negi reached out and, with one flick of his wrist, sent a swarm of needles through his chest.

The second man, a dark skinned one wielding a gun and a knife, charged and sent a swarm of cuts and bullets against the mage, his complex moves almost like a dance. However his moves quickly came to a halt as Negi stabbed him through the throat.

The third attacker turned out to be a blonde woman with a giant sword in her hands. She pulled it backwards and, with a fierce battle cry, unleashed a powerful blast of ki from it. Negi sidestepped and it missed him as he broke her neck with one clean hit.

All of the three attackers fell limply to the ground, Negi moved between their falling bodies with an unnatural grace and as his attackers thumped against the ground he looked up into the face of his childhood hero. Takahata Takamichi stood only a few meters from him with his feet slightly spread and his hands in his pockets. To the normal onlooker he would look relaxed, laidback, but the way the pockets were bulging, clearly showing that his hands were clenched into fists, and his tense cheek-muscles, revealing his distress, coupled with the fact that this precise stance was the stance of his personal fighting style showed that he was everything but this.

Beside the trembling man Negi saw another man he recognized well, his old teacher Albiero Imma. The androgynous man wasn't trembling but his face was set in stone. His posture was rigid and the way the hood drooped to cover his eyes showed his anger just as well. Behind the two men Negi could see how Shizuna was tending to Asuna, the healer gently extracting the spikes from the young girl's body, and around the chamber he spotted other mages too.

"This is getting ridiculous…" Negi said, "I chose this place since it was secluded. Are the entire mage population of Mahora here?" The magic ring that appeared around him and shut him into a cage of energy answered the question. "I see…"

"Negi Springfield!" The hoarse voice of the dean echoed, "You are hereby under arrest for violating the sacred rules that forbids the use of dark magic." The old man came out between Albiero and Takamichi, his wrinkled features grim and hard, "By order of the Supernatural Enclaves Security Federation you are hereby sentenced to death by annihilation. Rest in peace."

"Not today…" was all Negi said before the barrier around him flared and exploded. The other mages was thrown back by the energy pulse and Negi seemed to be ablaze with thick, black, fire, fire that seemed almost like tentacles the way the flames reached and twisted. Some of the more inexperienced mages present felt their stomachs lurch and vomited from the vile energies that permeated the air

"I still have things to do," He said, "if you want to kill me you'll need someone like my father and you don't have any. Until later…." He said before the cloak twisted around him and clenched until he disappeared in a swirl of cloth.

For a few seconds the chamber was silent as the mages tried to recover from the wicked blast that had gone through the chamber, none of them had been ready for that raw display on wickedness that the young man had displayed. The first to get to his feet was Takamichi, the man's eyes wide as he stared on the spot where Negi had been standing before whirling around and roaring.

"What the hell were you doing Seruhiko?!" He roared at the young man who was currently getting up from the ground. Before Seruhiko could answer he had been lifted to his feet by Takamichi who was grabbing his clothes. "What were you thinking of, dropping the anti-teleportation field like that?!"

"I-I didn't know that…" Seruhiko didn't have time to say more before Takamichi shook him.

"You didn't what?!" Takamichi was furious, no, raging. The grizzled man hadn't taken the discoveries of what lay in the chamber well; the discovery of what had happened to little Asuna had made him angry beyond words. "You dropped the field and let him escape! How could you…" Albiero appeared beside them and placed his hands on their chests to push them apart.

"Pull yourself together Takamichi-kun!" The androgynous mage yelled. "How could we know Negi would break the barrier like that? And even if we had known, it was all Seruhiko could do to put his all into it."

"Enough!" the headmaster roared, his old and hoarse voice echoing through the chamber. The old man had gotten to his feet and was ablaze with energy. "Take care of the wounded and try to save them! Inform the SESF about Negi and lock down Mahora! I won't let him get away."

"T…too late…" A weak voice said behind them, the headmaster looked back to see Setsuna, the girl had her giant wings out and was supporting another girl; one of her classmates, said girl was none other than Chao Lingshen. "H-he's too powerful…" the girl whispered, "You'll need an army… you-you have to get the entire SESF here… two days… the world will end!" She was rapidly getting more and more unclear. She somehow managed to move on her own and stumbled forward. Takamichi, always placing the girls first, hurried to her side.

"Chao-kun…" He said, noticing her terrified eyes, "What did he do to you?!" He caught her and supported her. The girl looked up at her former teacher with empty eyes before she reached into her clothes and took out a small disc.

"Now is as good time as any…" She said and tossed it to the ground, the disc sparkled and bright light shot up from it, creating a pillar of light about six feet high that slowly shaped into a human form. Within a second the image of an old, wizened woman appeared in front of them. She was beyond old, she was ancient. She stood only five feet high and had hair pure white, the countless wrinkles in her face and her tired eyes showing a weary woman, someone who had lived beyond her time. A few of the present mages' eyes widened when they saw the woman. Her looks was eerily familiar, the way she stood, the shape of her face, and, most obviously of all…

Her eyes, one was green and the other was blue.

"This thing on?" the aged woman in front of them said, "Good," She continued after a while, "I didn't expect this crazy plan to work but it seems it did. If this is shown in the right place some of you will probably recognize me. You are not wrong. I really am Asuna Kagurazaka." Suddenly an explosion could be heard in the distance, the gathered mages looked around but noticed that the old woman did as well, wherever the explosion came from it was in the recording "There's not much time left…" the woman said, "Everybody listen to me now!" She regained her composure. "If you want to stop him you better listen well. Whatever preparations you have planned won't work," the aged woman shook her head, "not by a long shot."


	37. A world of suffering

**Chapter 36: A world of suffering**

* * *

The world screamed.

The planet had been screaming in pain for a century, it was not a scream that could be perceived with any senses but the clues where there if you know where to look. How the sky was eternally filled with black clouds that spat out endless thunder and filthy rain. How the ground was dead and lifeless, only insects capable to live in such an environment, How the lakes were no longer teeming with life, but filled with death and disease. But most of all…

The fact that this was the best place on Earth.

This was paradise; this was Elysium, simply because it still retained any vestiges of normality. This barren place, capable of shifting between numbing cold and sweltering heat in mere seconds, endlessly plagued by storms and utterly dead, was the best place on Earth simply because it was not like the forests where even the trees were out for blood, forests where countless demons prowled and where creeks of blood flowed endlessly forwards, eternally refilled by those demons who was slain by their kin. Nor was it like the great seas, oceans filled with blood, eternally ravaged by storms and filled with titanic beings capable of devouring an entire city. Nor the fortress-cities where endless hordes of demons eternally waited, doing their exercises and drills in a horrid travesty of the armies of humanity, gleefully decimating entire armies against each other to perfect their murderous arts. Nor was it like the great rolling plains, endless wide open plains where the grass, which was supposed to be soft and lush, instead was like razors, razors that cut through even steel, inhabited by endless swarms of demonic creatures wandering forwards, throngs of roaming monsters reaching the horizon.

The absence of these things made it a paradise to the ragged figures who hurried through the storm. Filthy rain whipped against them and made their capes flutter wildly in the wind. The two figures were exhausted but knew that they couldn't stop. They had already been out in the open for far too long, even in this place they knew that they were the prey. Soon the monsters that soared above their heads would spot them. The taller of the two figures looked upwards and gasped.

"Get down!" The figure screamed towards its companion. The shorter figure instinctively threw itself to the ground, barely avoiding being decapitated by a flying demon. The taller figure drew a sword from under its cape and the demon, which was dashing against it, was decapitated before it had any chance of avoiding the sword. As the headless body fell to the ground the taller of the two figures looked up again and blanched.

The figure's scream had alerted several of the demons to their presence. The thin, winged creatures were circling above them; their shrill shrieks could be heard even over the storm. The shorter figure had gotten to its feet and looked skywards too just in time to see them all dive against them.

The demonic birds of prey were terrible opponents, their speed was greater than any normal bird, their fangs could rip through flesh and bone with ease and even a small scratch would infect their victims with virulent poison. The shorter figure got out of the way of the first demon just in time and managed to hit the second with a blast of fire. The third didn't even reach the ground before the taller of the two cut it down.

The storm seemed to pick up as the two figures fought for their lives on the plain. The demonic birds of prey dived and climbed time and time again, trying to make full use of their speed against their prey. The taller figure barely avoided being gutted by one of the demons as it dodged to the side and cut another out of the air. These creatures weren't so tough… the figures didn't fear them. It was what would come within minutes they feared. What these demons would attract.

As the final demon fell to the ground they suddenly heard a deafening roar. A huge gust of wind suddenly made the rain shift direction for a second and the figures felt the cold hand of fear clutch around their hearts. The already dark sky was further eclipsed as a titanic being descended against them.

It was huge… titanic… unnatural in its size. Vaguely similar to a dragon in shape but nothing more than a writhing collection of rotten flesh and sharp bones and with a huge head consisting sorely of a giant mouth where rows of jagged teeth writhed, seemingly alive, at the prospect of blood. And it was heading straight at them. The monstrous leviathan of an entity roared; a thundering sound that made the ground shake. The smell of the dead demons had attracted it and the presence of warm flesh was enough to whip it into frenzy.

The two figures stared in horror at it fir a second before they started to run. They both dashed across the barren wasteland, desperation giving them new strength as they moved with impossible speed. Normally they would never move so fast, it made them shine like a beacon and would draw the attention of every demon in the vicinity. But with the titanic monster that hunted them now nothing mattered but getting away.

The monstrous being had landed behind them and was now hounding them on foot, crawling as much as it ran after them, its misshapen legs incapable of anything else but pushing it forward in a horrid parody of running, completely without any from of grace and even normality. Its wet mouth was squelching and snapping as it opened and closed it, clearly eager to taste them.

Neither of the two hunted could later on recall how long they ran. Only that even reaching the cliffs was no aid against the monster. As they both dashed in between the rocky outcroppings they tuned around only to see the monster twist and bend. The wings folded in, the shapeless body elongated and narrowed and soon the monster was after them again, this time transformed into a giant worm.

Twilight was approaching as the two figured hid behind a large rock, the giant worm only a few meters from them. The monster's vile breath pushed out seemingly endless amounts of stinking air. The stench was enough to make anyone empty their stomach but the two hunted gritted their teeth; the slightest noise now would damn them.

The shorter figure was currently looking down into the ground and after a few seconds looked up at the other.

"Be prepared to run…" the figure spoke before it punched the other in the gut and leaped up to land on the top of the rock. This immediately caught the worm's attention and it roared as it started to slither against it. The figure dropped the cape and revealed a young girl, perhaps only fourteen years old, with black slanted eyes, her black hair put up in two buns and with strange clothes, equal parts clothes and armour. The girl raised her hands and begun to rapidly chant. The way her ands shook and her voice wavered betrayed her exhaustion, but as the chant progressed glowing patterns of energy started to appear all over her body. Brightly glowing patterns of energy that forcefully pulled out the magic, wreaking havoc on her body but giving her the strength she needed.

"Last Tale My Magic Scir Magister." The girl chanted, "Heed the pact and serve me, O Tyrant of Flame. Come, flame of purification, fiery broadsword." The worm was only a few dozen meters away now. "Fire and brimstone surging forth, Sodom was burning, turning the sinners into the dust of death." The demonic worm lunged at her, its giant jaw open, and it had already reached her when the last words were spoken. "Blazing heat in the sky!"

The blast was powerful enough to sear the skin of even the giant worm. The fire shot straight into its maw, the vile fumes it exhaled taking fire too, severely worsening the damage. The explosion shook the very ground and the worm shrieked in pain, its simple mind reeling under the agony of having its intestines on fire. The girl was almost inside the creature's mouth when she suddenly was jerked backwards by her companion who had managed to recover and was now desperately trying to get the girl out of there.

The young girl has been rendered unconscious by the spell, the glowing patterns had left trails of burnt flesh on her body and her breathing was laboured. The sick smell of burned flesh filled her companion's nostrils as he hurried between the cliffs, the titanic worm no longer pursuing them; it was too concerned with howling in pain. Only the storm witnessed the path the figure took into the mountains.

* * *

After the fateful day during which the world became hell itself the few scattered remains of humanity had fled. Some would say retreat but those were a naïve minority, growing ever fewer for each passing day. The truth was that mankind had fled in wild panic. Despite all the strength it could muster it had stood no chance against the endless legions of the nether realm. What little remained of the human race now hid in the darkest holes it could find where it desperately prayed for a miracle to come.

Deep within one of these holes a beeping sound could be heard, a short, shrill noise cut through the silence, only to cease after just a heartbeat's time. Soon it came again only to disappear just as quickly. It came and disappeared over and over again, the rhythmic dancing of a single green line accompanying it.

The beeping sound and the dancing line currently held a single figure's attention. On a rickety chair only a few meters from the source of these things a young man sat and stared at it. The black, straight hair, that covered his head and spilled down his forehead, and the steady eyes, also black as coal, would make many call him fair. But the three scars that rested diagonally across his face, one right above the right eye and below the left, one going right under his nose and across his mouth and the third across the end of his cheek, had destroyed and tainted that beauty. However the large muscles and the heavy sword that hung from his side showed that loss for beauty was nothing he was concerned with.

The young man looked from the beeping monitor where the line danced and looked on the thing that made the monitor sound. On a small bed just beside the monitor lay a young girl, seemingly unscarred but with terrible burn marks covering her body, and this girl was what now held the young man's full attention.

The young man knew that she had done the only thing that could have saved them when she used that spell. The mutilated dragon-creature was impossible to kill; even that spell had only stunned it, and any other attempt to get away would have ended with their death. But he just couldn't stand watching her like this. He hated this, this feeling of helplessness watching her fight for her life without him being able to do anything. He hated it so much. He hated the old men for what they had done to her, he hated the old woman for allowing them to do it, he hated the Dark One for making the world a place where they had to do these things… he hated so much… Sometimes he hated the entire world. She was the only thing he didn't want to kill when he felt like this.

As the young girl stirred he immediately got up and took her hand, hours of exhaustion pouring off him in an instant. Her black eyes opened and slowly focused on him. The girl managed a weak smile as she saw her protector trembling like a child. He never changed.

"Hi Isamu…" she said weakly.

"Hi…" The young man answered desperately trying to stop his voice from quivering.

"We made it huh?" She whispered. "I didn't really expect that…"

"You did." A voice said behind them, the you ng man turned around and saw a figure standing in the doorway. Standing only five feet tall, hunched and wizened, and needing a stick to support herself, she was nonetheless the most imposing human he knew. The ancient woman hobbled into the room and came up to the bedside. Isamu stepped aside, no matter what he personally though of the woman he would never stand in her way.

"Hi granny…" The young girl said softly, "Did it work?"

"Yes it did sweetie…" The ancient woman's face was graced by a smile as she petted her great-grandchild's head. "Even better than we expected. Within a week it will be ready." At this statement Isamu's head snapped up to stare at the old woman. The young girl, however, only smiled again.

"Good…" She shut her eyes again, "I'll better heal up then…" She closed her eyes and faded back into unconsciousness. The old woman patted her head again before hobbling out. After a few seconds the young man hurried after her.

"Asuna-sama!" He yelled; the old woman turned around to look at him after hearing his outburst. The young man ran up to her and stopped in front of the old woman, his large frame easily over a foot taller than hers but still somehow being dwarfed by the woman.

"Did you mean that?" He asked her, "Is it really ready within a week?"

The woman smiled again.

"See for yourself…" She said and pushed open the door she had reached. Within was a large control room where several of people were sitting in front of large terminals; all of them fully focused on the large window in front of them. The on the other window was a giant, spherical chamber, easily a hundred meters across, in which a giant orb of energy were hovering. Despite the window being heavily shaded the light was bright enough to hurt the eyes. Isamu quickly averted his eyes. One of the men looked up at them and quickly hurried to the old woman's side.

"How is it going?" Asuna asked the man, a bald man in his sixties with a nervous twitch in the right eyelid. The man bowed to her and held out a hand towards the console.

"Let me show you Asuna-sama." He said before punching a few buttons. One of the small screens on the console started to display a wide series of number, "One of the unintended benefits that came with the high quality gems were the energy spikes…" the man continued, "At regular intervals the gems "flare up" and the output increases tenfold for a second. We can't harvest or store these spikes but we can do this." Suddenly the orb flared and everyone averted their eyes. When the flare was over the scientist looked through the glass.

"Look…" He said quietly, "A world without demons…" Asuna and Isamu looked up at the giant orb and when they saw what had happened Asuna gasped. The orb was now like a window, clearly showing another place and, even more amazing, another time.

The people in the control room now had a perfect view of the world as it was over a hundred years ago.

* * *

Asuna stood quiet as she watched the image in front of her. The sky was blue… the ground was green… the trees were alive… she could see a bird in the sky."Unfortunately this gate cannot be used," The scientist said in the background, "The gate is only open for a hundredth part of a second, all we can do is to let the residue from the spike be shaped by the light that comes in from the other place, much like the old cameras of that time. But still…" 

Everyone understood what he meant. Isamu looked quietly at the scene in front of him. Was that how the world had looked back then? Of course he had heard the stories but still… he never expected to see it.

"How long until it's done?" Asuna asked after a while, the old woman's voice was choked.

"Five days, seven hours, thirteen minutes and fifty-six seconds." The scientist replied as he looked on the screen, "That is how long until we can safely let them make the jump."

"Okay…" The woman closed her eyes as the image begun to fade. Within a few seconds the orb was yet again a brightly glowing ball of energy. After a while she turned around and looked at the gathered scientists.

"Display that image on all screens…" She said, "We finally have hope, let everyone feel it."

* * *

Hope.

A commodity all to precious in this dark age, rarer and more precious than diamonds and growing more and more rare with every passing year. And now it flowed freely, like water from a wellspring it flowed freely throughout the catacombs. Even the most jaded survivor couldn't help but feel something at the image of the green and blue world that now was shown on every screen of the hideout.

For the first time they were hopeful. For the first time they were happy.

But then none of then knew of their approaching doom.

* * *

In what had once been a school devoted to the arts of magic, in what had once been known as Wales, a lone man stood on the giant balcony of a titanic, black tower, seemingly made out of glass and obsidian, and looked out into the sky. A pale hand was resting on a railing; smooth and unmarked it trailed a path along the grooves in the banister as its owner looked out across the landscape.

Despite the raging storm the air around the man was calm and quiet. His black robes didn't flutter at all and his red hair lay still despite the raging wind that howled around the tower. This figure, seemingly normal but for his unnaturally smooth skin and his eyes, eyes that were like two windows towards the void, was deep in thought.

One of his servants had told him that, on the other side of the world, one of his servant's finest creations, the Ravager, had been found with severe burn wounds; even this mighty behemoth had been badly wounded and had in blind pain torn down an entire city. The loss had been negligible if not for the fact that his master's finest had been in the city when the beast came crashing through the giant iron walls. Even the blackguards known as the Crimson Fangs, elite demonic warriors that served as his master's personal elite forces; had been defenceless against it and in only a few hours the city had been destroyed completely. The man only waited for the moment his master contacted him and demanded an explanation.

A small, frog-like, hunched over, being with arms that dragged after it came hobbling out from the building. It stopped a few meters from him and bowed.

"The great one demands your presence in the Hall of Eternal Torments, Exalted One." The creature snivelled with a whiny voice. The man didn't even dignify the creature with a look at he spun around and walked into the building, his footsteps not making a sound.

The journey through the castle was like a journey through hell. All throughout the building screams of pain echoed and blood seemed to run everywhere. The tower was a miniature hell in itself. The high tower where the balcony sat was filled with writhing flesh, torn-off chunks of humans, demons and animals, and all of it was being stitched together, torn apart again and reshaped into new twisted designs by thousands of small creatures, seemingly all arms and fingers. Above it all, a lone figure sat and watched it all with wicked glee. Female and seemingly human, but for the glowing eyes and the black pulsating mark on her forehead, the figure flew down from the ceiling when the man approached, sitting sideways on a large staff made out of bone, and landed beside him. She tugged at the man's sleeve, gaining his attention by this.

"What have they done?" the figure's female voice asked, "What have they done to my baby?" Genuine concern seemed written across the face that had only seconds before been twisted in sadistic glee at the spectacle taking place in the chamber. However they were interrupted when a large body came flying through the air and was impaled upon a giant shard of bone.

The body was that of a human, but it's muscles were too large, the plates of bone that covered the skin, the large balls of steel that sat on the end of his arms instead of hands, and most of all, the mien of terror etched on it's face made it all clear that it wasn't a normal human. The creature's chest had been torn open and the place where the heart should have sat was empty. The female figure's head snapped to the side and saw the one responsible.

A giant, hulking monster stood in the doorway. As much wolf-like as humanoid, with black fur covering the entire body, large hands with giant claws, an oversized mouth filled with savage fangs and eyes that was crimson red from edge to edge. Just as crimson were the fluids running through the fur, the figure was covered in blood. This creature bore a rune on its forehead identical to the woman's.

"You gave me a bad toy Chaos." It snarled, seemingly on the verge of exploding with fury. "It's weak! Weak and useless!"

"Rage…" The woman's eyes narrowed, "You filthy thing. I give you my babies for you to play with and have to stitch them back together daily, how about I create your next plaything out of your intestines?!" Chaos's face was twisted in a grimace of anger and her hands seemed to bubble as the flesh started to boil on it. Rage hunched together, ready to leap at her, before the man held out his hand between them.

"Enough…" His voice was soft, barely audible, but it stopped the two demons in their tracks. "Chaos, leave the tower and find the Ravager, repair it before it destroys another city. Rage, if you need blood, head for the Great Plains, there are too many roamers there anyway. Now leave." The two beings backed off and bowed to the man before they quickly left.

* * *

After leaving the chamber of blood and flesh the man came to the core of the tower, a giant chamber, over a thousand feet high. Throughout the chambers endless stairs ran between the walls, twisting, bending and turning in a terrifying, non-Euclidian nightmare.

"Madness." The man spoke and in a second a man had appeared beside him. Unlike the two others this man seemed completely normal. Slightly pale skin, light blonde hair and pale grey eyes, all in all he immediately gave the impression of a good guy, the neighbour that pitched in to give you a hand with the heavy lifting or who would offer to drive the kids to the games. The only thing that broke through his pleasant appearance what the black mark on his forehead, identical to the other two

"Master." Even his voice was calming, soothing, something that instantly made you feel how the tensions went away.

"Bring me to the Hall of Eternal Torments." The man told Madness.

"The Great One was told of the clash between the Ravager and the remnant agents I presume." Madness lifted his hands and clapped. The stairs seemed to twist and bend, reshaping themselves in impossible ways, before finally stopping. A single stair now reached between the chamber walls, one of the ends being right in front of them. "Good luck master." Madness bowed, "If you can, please come to the dungeons when you are done, I've made an intriguing discovery."

"I will." The man started the descent, despite the stair being seemingly hundreds of steps long he had descended it in only a few steps. At the end of his descent was a large iron door, covered in frost. Howling could be heard inside. Whether it was from the wind or the screams of the suffering was impossible to say, the victims in this chamber had been tormented for so long that they had lost any semblance of humanity.

The doors slowly opened and the man stepped inside, the sudden cold, far colder than what any human could ever endure, didn't affect him at all, his breath didn't even mist up. Inside was a giant cathedral of ice. Pillars of ice stood in several rows, flanked by stalactites and stalagmites, and throughout the clear ice human bodies were visible. Hundreds, thousands, of humans were frozen inside the ice, their faces twisted in fear at horror. They were eternally condemned to live on inside this frozen hell, magic keeping them alive by eternally sustaining them just enough to keep the cold fingers of blissful death from claiming them and filling their lungs with air. This air was the reason they could scream. Despite their frozen state pitiful whines and moans, barely audible, escaped their lips and together these noises produced a choir of pain that drifted on the sharp winds that blew through the chamber and echoed through this travesty of holy ground.

"Despair." The word made the wind pick up even more and blow up a swirl of snow that formed a small tornado in front of him. After a few seconds the tornado subsided to reveal a woman made out of ice. A being with regal and proud bearing, wearing the black mark on her forehead like a crown, with skin like powdered snow, hair like mist and clothes like woven out of frosts, her beauty was only overshadowed by the coldness in her eyes, eyes that promised nothing more than pain. Upon seeing who had entered the woman fell to her knees, her pride seemingly melting away faster than the snow she was made of in the sun.

"Master." The voice should be a haughty and superior one, but it was the voice of a woman enslaved in both mind and body, a simple marionette that begged for its master to command it. "The great one is awaiting you. Please, follow me." She turned around and begun to walk deeper into the chamber. The man followed, ignoring both the wails echoing through the chamber and the biting cold, as the woman headed deeper into the chamber.

In the end they reached the centre of the chamber where several giant crystals of ice rose out of the ground, forming a crescent around a raised part of the floor. In the middle of this gathering a large mirror made out of ice stood. The woman fell to her knees again by the stair that led up to the small mound, obediently waiting for her master to finish. The man headed past her and walked up the stairs to the mirror. When he had gotten up to it he stopped about three meters from it and looked inside.

What he saw was hell, the hell of war. He saw a giant city that once must have been fair beyond understanding but now was devastated and ruined by war. Countless bodies, very few of them demonic, were scattered throughout the streets and the few survivors screamed in pain and fear as the infernal monsters hunted them down and slaughtered them.

"Beautiful, is it not?" A thundering voice that seemed to rend the soul itself said. "The great City of Light, capitol of the first of the high realms; is now tainted and ruined. The taint will never disappear. This world will forever be dark and bereft of hope."

"My congratulations great one." The man's voice was impassive. "I take it things went as planned?"

"That they did, the seraphim didn't stand a chance." The burning city disappeared and a red light started to shine out of the mirror. "However it appears things aren't going as they should where you are. Care to explain how my secret weapon for the attack on the second heaven was nearly killed?"

"Your agents were mistaken," the man said, "It was only wounded and as we speak Chaos is on her way to repair it."

"And the fifty-eight citadel?" The voice continued, "An entire city of my best legions, gone. How is that?"

"The ravager was blinded with pain and went berserk." The man calmly said, he knew better than to lie. "And it proved its worth. Breaching that citadel was an epic feat; the Ravager showed that it is ready, as soon as Chaos has repaired it I will send it to you. The attack can be launched ahead of schedule; the cherubim won't know what hit them."

"And how do you suggest that I do this without the Crimson Fangs? I needed those troops as you well know." The voice was filled with deceptive calm.

"My Malebranche can take their place; Malecoda has personally promised that he'll have ten thousand warriors, all of them on the Progenitor Thirteen's level, ready when you…"

"**Enough!"** The force in the scream made both the mirror and the ice around them crack. "I'm tired of your stalling! Those insects have been allowed to survive long enough! Within two turnings of your world humanity will be gone! Otherwise I'll grind your soul into dust!"

"By your will Great One…" If he had been affected by the thunderous yelling the man didn't show it. "They will be destroyed."

"And that includes the insects you keep chained in the dungeons." The voice hissed, "I want the very memory of humanity to disappear."

"Whit all due respects Great One, we'd be wasting an irreplaceable resource if we…"

"Are you questioning me?!" the mirror seemed to bleed as it groaned under the sheer power in the demon-king's will. "I want them **dead!**" the last word made even more of the ice crack, in several places. It was now coloured red as the fragmented ice pushed, in many places, jagged shards into the humans frozen into it.

"It shall be done then lord Malfeas." The man bowed. "Before two days has passed they will be dead, all of them."

"Remember your place Thanatos…" Malfeas hissed, "You are nothing but my pawn, fail me like this again and I'll destroy you." With this, the light faded until it was completely gone and the man was staring at his reflection. The chamber had fallen silent, the wind had died and the prisoners in the ice were quiet, their fears of the voice overshadowing even their suffering.

Despair looked up at her master and got to her feet. She hurried up to his side and moved to support him but a small gesture from him froze her in her tracks. Thanatos sighed before he turned around and left the chamber, not sparing Despair a single look.

* * *

The dungeons of the black tower were, if possible, an even more horrifying place than the rest of the tower. In this dank hell screams echoed constantly, not the pitiable howls of the victims of the frozen cathedral but desperate, shrill screams of agony of those humans who had fallen into the demons' hands. In this inferno of pain and screaming Thanatos walked through the bloodstained corridors. The blood flowed freely, despite the central part of the corridor being lowered and a grating put over it to give the blood space it still flowed over and spilled out across the floor.

Thanatos made his way to one of the chambers, the source of the screaming, and entered it only to bear witness to a gruesome scene. Within the chamber at least a hundred humans were being tortured in horrific ways. The first sight that met those who entered was the men strapped to large iron chairs with black iron helmets covering their heads. Despite no apparent source of pain the victims screamed. The helmets were enchanted things that continually blasted deafening, high-pitched sounds into their ears and blinding light into their eyes. The noise and light continually changed and had done so for years, their victims not even being granted the boon of insanity.

Further in a row of bodies hung suspended by their arms, their legs torn off and their throats slit. These mutilated persons didn't scream thanks to the iron rods that pierced the throat and had ripped out the vocal cords. Instead they were futilely struggling against the shackles that held them, their pointless struggling only increasing the torrent of blood that ran from their bodies and down into the giant jars under them. Every now and then a sharp light engulfed those bodes who had ceased to yield blood and renewed the process.

Halfway into the chamber Thanatos found what he searched for. In front of a lone man cuffed to a chair Madness stood.

"It's over…" His soft voice said to the delirious man, "The world has ended, all is gone, your entire life you have fought a fool's battle."

"No…" The man groaned. "Justi…Agh!" He was interrupted by a blast of energy that coruscated through his body.

"There is no justice, how could it be in a world the gods gave to darkness? They abandoned this world, not caring for it. You served beings only concerned with their own survival. Your servitude has meant nothing. They abandoned you."

"M-Mari… Agh!" The man's attempts to remember his wife was punished with another blast of energy.

"Your wife is gone, she has forgotten you, abandoned you. Your vows meant nothing. All she cared about was her own survival. How do you think we got to you? She sold you out, begged for us to spare her in exchange for her family." Madness conjured an image of a blonde woman bound to a chair who was crying openly.

"Please… please!" The woman begged. "No more, no more. Please… I'll do anything… Anything! M… my hideout! It's in the lower parts of the Alps… We're many there! Hundreds! Just please stop!"

"No…no…" The man couldn't turn his eyes away from the image. "No!" he screamed and started to trash. "Why!"

"She valued her own life higher than yours. She betrayed you. You have nothing other than suffering ahead. Your life, your soul, all is forfeit, condemned, eternally lost."

The man now broke down and started to sob. The large muscular man sobbed like a child.

"Unless…" Madness said, sounding as if he had remembered something. The voice, soft and caring, reached the man immediately, like the voice of a concerned friend. The victim's tear-stained face snapped up and looked at him. Madness begun to speak, his voice almost chanting, a hypnotic sound, "You are strong; you killed nearly a hundred of the attackers before you were captured. Strength will always demand respect, and as the sole surviving wielder of the Liechtenauer fencing school you have skill beyond all but the most powerful. You could become a warrior, a leader, a champion. You could escape this dungeon." Then madness chuckled, "No… that is no option, you don't want that… you want to suffer, you want to feel pain, you want to wither away as a sad remnant of a human. See that body over there?" He pointed at one of the maimed corpses dripping blood. "That's where you'll end up." Madness smiled, a friendly, trusting smile.

"Thanks to your determination and your strength you'll become a milking-cow for us. First we'll drive iron rods through your throat, you see that they aren't pushed in all the way but only as much as needed? That's so that they will become leverage on your head. Then, Rage, the demon that was in the forefront of the attack on your home will come, he only eats human flesh. He'll eat your lower body, all the way up to here," He pointed at the waist. "He prefers those parts. Sometimes he begins with tearing off the genitalia, he can't stand that taste. Then… we'll hang you over those cauldrons. Human blood is a powerful magical ingredient, and there is always a great demand for it. And whenever your blood is running low…" Madness waited until a flash appeared. "That will happen, we'll force your body to produce more blood, and you'll be filled up in an instant. The pain is incredible… beyond anything in this castle. And that is how you will spend eternity. Good luck… You are a strong man." With that, Madness rose and turned to walk away.

"No!" The man suddenly screamed.

"What?" Madness looked back and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't… don't put me there… I'll do what you say… I'll obey you!"

"You really mean that?" Madness asked as he put a hand on the key to the lock. "Will you serve us, become our warrior?"

"Yes… yes!" The despair in the man's voice was slowly being replaced with anger. "I served other humans all my life, they threw me away… my… my wife threw me away! Forget it then! I don't want to be human!"

"Are you sure?" Madness had something playful in his voice, "Becoming a demon isn't especially nice after all. I mean… you are a demon. A bringer of death and evil."

"I don't care… I dont care!" The man was frothing by now, "I'll kill anyone, I'll defile their bodies, and I'll eat their remains! I will become a demon and kill everyone who turned their backs on me!"

"So be it…" Madness turned the key and the man leapt out of the chair. Before he could take two steps, however, Madness had planted a fist in his gut, the flesh of the man started to bubble and twist as it slowly started to change. The man fell to the ground, writhing in pain and screaming wildly. Madness snapped his fingers and two demons came scurrying out of the shadows, lifted the man up and carried him away.

"Creation of Malebranche member number five-thousand three-hundred eighty-two complete. Name from now on will be Blutfresser." Madness said impassively as he turned towards Thanatos. "I apologise for the delay. The latest subject was a tough one."

"You are forgiven," Thanatos said, "what were you planning to show me?"

"This way please." Madness gestured and walked deeper into the chamber, "During a foray into the lands around the site of the great one's entry into this world my agents captured something interesting. Apparently the remnants around there are more organised and developed than we thought."

"What did you capture?" Thanatos asked.

"I'll show you…" Madness opened a door and pointed inside. The only visible thing in the room they both looked into was a pair of empty manacles. Madness paused when he saw this, "What in…?" he didn't have time for anything more before a black shape came flying out of the door, heading straight towards Thanatos.

"Die you murderer!" A voice yelled in Japanese. Thanatos reacted immediately by clenching his hand, a shadowy chain having appeared in it and yanking it upwards. The light in the room came from behind him, casting his shadow in front of him, the shadow that now seemed to burst. In a sickening cascade of ephemeral gore a shadowy wraith dove out of Thanatos's shadow and before his assailant could react it was impaled upon two indistinct blades. The attacker turned out to be a young man, perhaps only fifteen, in black clothes and with eastern features, who stared in disbelief at his killer.

In front of Thanatos a vaguely humanoid figure stood. More shadow than corporeal, it stood lowered into a combat stance, with two short swords buried in the attacker's chest. In the gloom of the torture chamber it was impossible to see any clear features of the wraith, other than the eyes, two glowing pools of light reminiscent of the moon, and the rune on its forehead, somehow darker than even the insubstantial body of the defender.

"Finish it, Emptiness." Thanatos commanded and the wraith moved in a blur as it cut the black-clothed man to pieces. When the chunks of flesh had all hit the floor Thanatos yanked the chain again. "Now go back." He commanded and the wraith sunk back into his shadow, disappearing within a second.

"That… was unexpected." Madness said, "I have no excuse master. I should have ensured he was properly detained..."

"Look at his wrists…" Thanatos interrupted, "He disjointed them in order to escape and re-fixed them when he had done so. You could have covered him in chains from head to toe and ensorcelled them, he would still have escaped. This is a ninja technique." Madness blinked and looked at the body. "It appears that there are still humans left there. I'll personally deal with them."

"Pardon?" Madness looked at his master. "I thought you had decided to let a few holdouts remain?"

"Not anymore." Thanatos said, "The master has ordered us to wipe them all out. Even the prisoners must die. Send the swarmers to the remains of the magic world, and let those Malebranche you are done with accompany them, Malecoda will command the attack." He turned around and started to walk, gesturing for Madness to follow him. "Let Rage and Despair deal with the ones hiding in the Himalayas; tell them to take the Hellraiser packs with them. You and Chaos go for Antarctica, and make use of the Deep Ones; they will probably be deployed in the higher realms soon and will need to be tested. I will personally deal with the remnant base in Japan." They both left the torture chamber and Thanatos shut the door behind him. It closed with a deafening slam. "Within two days not a trace of humanity can remain."

* * *

A/N: My most sincere apologies for the delay with the update. I've suffered from about every writers-block possible and haven't been able to make any real progress in weeks. However I can inform you of this, this story WILL be finished, we're only about three chapters away from the end anyway. But I can not, however, give any more weekly updates (as you miught have noticed...) from now on the updating will be whenever I'm able to put it up.

Stay tuned though, this is a fic that will wear the "Complete" tag one day, I swear.


	38. Final Death

Chapter 37: Final Death

* * *

Only one day remained until the time-machine had finished charging. The team that would be sent back in time had been chosen with outmost care. The first two members would be the great-grand-daughter of Asuna, Chao Lingshen, and her partner, the young swordmaster Isamu. The third would be one of the few remaining ninja, a man named Hiroshi Nagase, a distant relative of the legendary Kaede Nagase and an elite ninja in his own right. The fourth would be the sniper and scout known only as Yasu, a mysterious, grim man who one day had appeared outside the gates together with the survivors of a patrol presumed lost weeks ago. The fifth and last member was the giant warrior-monk Sheng, unique both in his serene attitude and this spiritual outlook on life, who was the last member of an order of monks that had safe-guarded countless dark artifacts before their temple had been overrun by the dark hordes. This collection of people was hand-picked by Asuna herself to become the people who would end the reign of the Dark One before it even could begin. They were the finest humanity had to offer and its last hope.

Three of these five people currently sat in the dining room, a large and sterile place with steel benches and a large machine in one end of the room where the food was dispensed. They were currently chewing on said, tasteless, food. The only thing they could grow in this place was the kelp that grew in the water tanks, at the same time purifying the water, and different insects that could sustain on nearly anything. The food they could create was bland and tasteless but it was sufficient to survive.

"Damn it's gonna be sweet when we get back there…" Hiroshi said as he chewed on his stew. "A chance to try real food."

"How do you know you'll even like it?" Chao asked, "Perhaps you'll find it all to be disgusting."

"Kindly don't burst my bubble here, I'm having a moment." Hiroshi replied as he took another bite of food. Chao rolled her eyes at this. The guy was incredible, they were handpicked to rewrite history and all he could think about was food.

"Hey, anyone who knows where Sheng and Yasu are?" Hiroshi asked suddenly.

"I don't know about Yasu but I think Sheng is meditating." Chao said, remembering that the large man often did that.

"Okay cool…" Hiroshi said as he finished his food. "Well… see ya, I'm gonna go poke him with a stick or something." Chao snorted with laughter as Hiroshi took his bowl and left. Isamu looked at the back of the leaving ninja and snorted too, just not from laughter.

"What does he get out of that?" He asked tiredly.

"Other than the kick that comes out of irritating people?" Chao said.

"True… I don't get why Sheng allows him to keep it up. I would have smashed his head in a long time ago."

"I don't think Sheng really minds…" Chao said, "Those two are pretty tight after all."

"Yeah, that father and son crap…" Isamu muttered.

"They draw strength from each other…" A soft voice said, the two youngsters' heads snapped to the side to see Yasu sitting only a metre away in front of a bowl of food, slowly chewing it. "…much like you." They hadn't sensed anything… Yasu really was like a ghost.

"Can you stop popping up like a devourer-worm all the time?" Isamu asked the sniper. Yasu didn't answer and took another bite. As he took a sip of the water he noticed the people who entered the dining room.

"Oh… the Shikome troopers…" Isamu said when he saw what Yasu had seen, referring to the group of people who had lost everything to darkness and become completely obsessed with vengeance. These people now formed the vanguard of the hideout's armed forces. Brutally scarred, both from battle and flagellation, and with a fanatical gleam in their eyes, there were few who didn't get uneasy around them.

"Poor bastards…" Chao said to herself. She couldn't help but feeling sad for these people. She understood them better than most; Isamu had been a member of them before he met her. The same guy now got up from his seat and knocked her on the shoulder.

"Let's go…" Isamu didn't like to be around these people, they saw him as a traitor since he had left them. Chao nodded and they both left.

* * *

"_**Kill!" **_The voice inside Rage screamed as he dashed up the slope against the humans. They had scattered in seconds when Despair unleashed a rain of ice upon them, giant shards of ice had fallen from the sky and massacred them. The few survivors were now in full flight and Rage and the Hellraiser packs were quickly closing in.

"_**Kill!"**_ The voice urged him on, faster, faster; he had to reach them now! About a hundred humans were running away from him now, bloodied and battered, but they had no chance of escaping.

"_**Kill!" **_Rage was way ahead of the Hellraisers now, his bloodlust boiling over. With a mighty leap he reached one of the humans, a bearded old man who had fallen behind, and plunged his clawed hands into his body.

"_**Kill!"**_ The man screamed and Rage tore his hands to the sides, tearing the man in two and killing him instantly. Rage felt savage joy rising in him at the sight and the smell of his blood, blood that now gushed over him but it wasn't enough.

"_**Kill!"**_ Rage roared as he continued the chase, the humans who looked back saw a monstrous demon – covered in blood and with murderous rage gleaming out of its eyes – that was quickly coming closer.

"_**Kill!" **_The humans tried to climb up a mountain wall to escape but Rage leapt up and landed above them, seemingly unaffected by the steep slope as he stood on all fours above them.

"_**Kill!"**_ He let got of the wall and fell down against the humans, tearing them off the wall as he passed. When he landed the massacre began.

"_**Kill, kill kill kill killkillkillkill!"**_ the voice in him rose to a crescendo and his last vestiges of self control vanished. When he came back to reality he stood on a giant mound of mutilated corpses. The Hellraisers were scampering around him, the scent of all that blood fuelling their hunger but the presence of the monster on top of the pile made them too terrified to approach. Rage rose to his full height and howled at the red sky, the Himalayas echoing with his terrifying roar.

* * *

Yasu sat in the engineering office, the main source of all the equipment that the survivors used, and tried out the sights on the new rifle he had been given. The gunsmith beside him sounded like a proud father as he rattled off statistics on the weapon. Yasu however tuned him out and focused on the feel of the rifle. Balance was perfect, the sights detailed but still sparse. The weight was well adapted to his type of work and the barrel wasn't a millimeter longer than needed. The gun also had the ability to switch between bolt-action and semi-automatic firing mode.

"Can I try it?" He asked. The gunsmith gave his immediate approval and Yasu stepped up to the firing-range. Folding out the bipod he went down on a knee and took aim. A sharp crack echoed through the room as Yasu's shot cleanly cut through the middle of the target, a hundred meters away. Yasu folded back the bipod and inserted a magazine into the gun before he flipped the switch to semi automatic. Several new targets appeared and Yasu hunched together as he begun to rapidly pull the trigger. Target after target went down with a clean hole through it. Yasu noticed that the bullets also seemed to go quite deep into the wall behind them.

"What ammo does it have?" He asked

"Fully convertible 7.62×51mm ammunition. We decided on that caliber since it will be easily obtained in the past and we have already created several types of experimental bullets for you to use, the most noteworthy is the Witch hunter round."

"Witch hunter round?"

The gunsmith held up a white bullet, "A prototype round with several magic seals that contains disruptive magic modeled on the Zanmaken technique. In theory these bullets will be a legitimate threat to any tainted being."

"…" Yasu was quiet as he looked on the rifle in his hands, he couldn't find any real flaw in it. It was like one of the Malebranche, a born killer, smooth and efficient. "This gun will do fine." He finally said, giving his approval to the gun-smith.

* * *

The thick ice of Antarctica shattered under the humans' feet as the titanic monstrosity broke through it and rose from the water, its giant slithering body seemingly never ending and its barbed tentacles waving wildly. Over a dozen humans were caught by the tentacles and disappeared into the giant maw of the monster, screaming as they fell down between its titanic jaws.

Chaos giggled with glee as she hovered high above the carnage on her bone staff, a broad brimmed witch's hat upon her head and wide black robes on her body. She found the whole thing so funny! The way they ran like animals made her smile happily, the way they screamed like stuck pigs when the barbs of the monstrous Deep Ones pierced them made her giggle. The way the blood shot out between the tentacles at they were squeezed to death made her laugh openly. A flash of light to her left told her that he had come to watch too. She turned backwards and waved at him.

"Madness!" She shouted happily upon seeing the young man hovering about a dozen meters away from her, "Here! Here! I got the best place!" The pale-blonde man smiled as he hovered closer, seemingly walking upon the air and came up beside her, he was somewhat closer to the ground so their heads were on the same level.

"Look!" She took his hand and pointed downwards. "Look there. It's Tanpopo!" She pointed in the direction of a woman who was desperately trying to carry her child to safety. The woman made a desperate attempt to get past one of the pits where the deep ones were. As she ran with everything she had Chaos was giggling with anticipation. When the Deep One's noticed her and reached out for her with its tentacles she squealed and started to clap her hands. When the woman was caught and thrown, baby and all, into the gaping maw of the monster she yelled with excitement and threw herself around Madness' neck.

"He did it!" She squealed, "He did it! Thank you so much! Thank you!"

Madness returned the embrace and smiled at her. "It was my pleasure to help him, you know it is." He said kindly

"I was so worried over him…" Madness realized that Chaos was sniffing, "He was so small and weak… wouldn't play with the others… you saved my baby…"

"There, there," Madness took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears, "What will your kids think?" Chaos only smiled at him and leaned into his chest. In that position they both looked upon the bloodshed below, both of them now quiet.

"Madness…" Chaos asked after a while, "When we get home…" she stopped there, a blush spreading across her face.

"What?" Madness asked, smiling at her.

"W-w-wouldyoutakemeoutonadate?" She blurted out. Madness' eyed opened wide at this. Chaos turned away when she saw his face. "N-never mind…" She laughed nervously. "I'm rambling anyway…" Madness stopped her with a light peck on her chin.

"It would be an honor." He said finally. Chaos nervous look was replaced with one of happiness. "When we are finished here I'll gladly take you out." Madness smiled gently at her and stroked her hair.

Chaos then turned to look at the carnage again and crossed her hands as she closed her eyes. The Deep Ones suddenly stopped. A shiver seemed to go through the monsters as they retreated into the water again. Chaos then opened her eyes and started to chant.

"Maranath Elthor Gasim. Let the ground be stained red with the blood of the innocent. Fall, crimson downpour, and herald the end of all things. Let all that is pure be forever marked and corrupted. Rain of tainted blood." The girl inhaled deeply and spat out a giant cloud of black smoke that spread to cover the entire sky below them. She then turned to Madness again.

"There!" She said with a bright smile, "Now we're done. Let's go, let's go." Madness couldn't help but laugh at this. She was truly one of a kind. He took her hand with a smile on his face and together they both teleported away, leaving the last humans to be tainted and twisted by the spell she had unleashed, condemning them all to dying in horrific pain in this place of endless cold.

* * *

Hiroshi's head smacked into the carpet and for a second everything spun around. The large monk who had thrown him into the floor stepped backwards and looked at him. Hiroshi groaned when he realized where he was.

"How?" He whined as he pounded his fists into the thick carpet of the training hall, "How do you always beat me?! No matter how I look upon it I'm faster than you! I should be able to beat you easily!"

"That's right…" Sheng's deep, rumbling voice said softly. "But you don't. Since you don't fight with your heart."

"…Whut?" Hiroshi said, "Fight with my heart? Whazzat?"

"If strength of body is all that's needed, shouldn't humanity be extinct by now?" The large monk said as he put his staff over his shoulders. "The demons have a hundred thousand times as many warriors as we do. But still we survive, still we win. Why is that?"

"Luck?" Hiroshi was now sitting up, legs crossed and his squinting eyes on the large man.

"No…" Sheng smiled, "Heart… We fight for something greater than ourselves. We fight for our families, our history; we fight so that humanity itself won't be extinct. And for a hundred years we have persevered since our very being cries out for victory. That's the key Hiroshi. Your great-grandmother for example…"

"No!" Hiroshi spun around, "I don't wanna hear about her! No, nope, njet and iie. No more about her! I'm fed up with that heartless bitch and I never want to be like her!"

"Hiroshi…" Sheng said, "Even if you might find your ancestor a cold and heartless woman she did everything she could for humanity. She knew that every single one of the men she led was prepared to die. The sacrifices she made, the things she did… It was all so that humanity could live for another day. And even if you cannot love her… try to understand her…" For a few seconds everything was quiet. Then Hiroshi looked backwards.

"I know Sheng…" His voice was soft now, even sad. "I know Kaede-obaasan was a great woman. She's one of the greatest heroes ever. But I can't measure up to that… I'm an embarrassment to her memory. Hers is a role I can't fill. I'm too small to walk her path… I just can't."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Sheng asked as he stepped forwards and put a hand on Hiroshi's shoulder, "No matter how you look on it you are you, and Kaede was Kaede. You are two separate people. No one can expect you to be anyone other than the one you are. And I like you for being the boy who likes to stuff sticks into my nose when I try to meditate, not for being Kaede's descendant."

Hiroshi couldn't say anything at this.

* * *

The mountains were silent, the storms had abated and a tentative silence now blanketed the area in a rare moment of peace. Not a sound could be heard, but suddenly the silence was shattered by the rushing sound of swirling cloth. Upon an outcropping of one of the cliffs a human figure appeared in a swirl of darkness. The man looked out across the mountains, his eyes stopping on a distant mountain pass.

After a few seconds the man raised his hand and clenched it, his nails elongated and dug into his palm, drawing a steaming black liquid from the wound. The liquid started to dance in his hand and rose from it, reshaping itself into a mirror. Gazing into it he spoke one word.

"Report." The image in the mirror reshaped and split into three sections. In each of these sections a face appeared. One was that of an old man with silver beard, one was that of a woman made out of ice and the third a young man with sun bleached hair.

"The attack was a complete success exalted one." The bearded man said, "The new members of the Malebranche cut through the opposition like blacksteel through an angel's flesh. None are left alive."

"The Himalayas are devoid of human life master," the woman said submissively, "As by your will they were exterminated."

"The only thing left on Antarctica is tainted masses of human flesh, in no way deserving to be called a human." The young man said with a pleasant smile. "Soon they will have frozen to death too."

"Then this will be the final thrust." The man said as the mirror dissolved, "Today the last flame of hope will die forever." He looked into the mountain pass, the darkness of a cave barely noticeable. For a second the man seemed to have been given pause before he willed the cloak to wrap itself around him and teleported away.

* * *

Chao sighed mentally and wondered what had gotten into Isamu; the scarred young man had been acting really strange these last days. Whenever she saw him he was fiddling, fiddling! Isamu! Mr steel spine! The very thought was enough to make her wonder if she was dreaming. She was in half a mind to just ask him what was wrong but she knew that he didn't like that kind of questions. In the end she decided on leaving him be. With the journey back in time only a day away she had other things to focus on anyway. She took a look on the strange clock she had created together with the scientists.

She called it "Cassiopeia" and it was this thing that would send them into the past. The giant machine that now was sparkling with energy was only the energy supplier that would give them the magic necessary to jump back in time. The key to their salvation was not bigger than a pocket watch. She ran a finger over it when Isamu suddenly entered the room. The look of nervousness was still present but also a look of determination. She looked up at him as he begun to speak.

"I need to talk with you about something…" He said and Chao raised an eyebrow.

"Sure. What?" She asked. Isamu looked to the side, was that a blush on his face?

"Tomorrow we'll make that jump and all. I was just thinking that, well… It would be for the best if we made sure we are as powerful as we can get before doing it."

"Isn't that what we're doing?" Chao asked.

"Yes but… I'm not sure we've done everything possible." Isamu said vaguely.

"Hey… come clean will you." Chao said," What are you suggesting?"

"The pactio." Isamu blurted out before he looked to the side again. Chao's eyes widened and Isamu started to talk rapidly. "I just figured that it's the best thing to do, I mean, we don't know how powerful he'll be and we should have as many aces up our sleeves as we can, it's just… uh… well."

Chao couldn't hold it back any longer and started to laugh, a loud, side-splitting laugher that echoed through the room. Isamu's face became even redder and he smiled forcedly.

"Yeah… I know… it's a stupid idea, I just though I should ask you… yeah." He turned around to walk away but was suddenly stopped when Chao grabbed him arm. Looking back he saw the young girl with a seductive look on her face.

"Let me tell you something Isamu-kun…" Chao purred as she walked forwards, forcing Isamu to back away and end up with his back against the wall. "If you want to kiss a girl… you shouldn't say it's due to practical matters…" Chao put her hands on his cheeks. "She'll take offence. It's much better to say that you want to kiss her since you love her, since she's all you live for. That way she'll feel that the gives her first kiss for something important." Her face was only a few inches away from his now. "Understand."

Isamu didn't trust his voice so he just nodded. Chao smirked as held up a hand which she pointed downwards.

"Look." She whispered. Isamu looked down on the floor and his eyes widened upon seeing the magic circle. He didn't have time to say anything before Chao captured his lips in a fierce kiss. The light flooded the room and enveloped them both. Isamu stood still at first, trying to comprehend the situation, before he regained his capability to act and answered her with all he had.

The light soon vanished, too soon. Isamu and Chao broke apart when they ran out of breath and Chao caught the card that just had been formed.

"See Isamu-kun?" She purred, "If you do it that way it's much…"

It was then that an earth-shaking explosion rocked the entire base. Chao stumbled and was thrown to the floor as the ground suddenly heaved under her. Isamu stumbled too but managed to stay on his feet.

"What the hell?!" The scarred young man yelled as he regained his footing. "What's happening?" Chaos attempt to answer him was drowned by the alarms that had begun to sound. All through the base the sirens had begun to sound, accompanied by the red lights that now were blinking intently. Chao and Isamu both stared at the red lights before they heard the loudspeakers.

"We're under attack!" A panicked voice yelled, "We're under attack! The gate has been breached! We're under attack!" suddenly the sound of struggle could be heard from the loudspeakers before the voice was replaced with another. A deeper, calmer voice now started to speak.

"All armed personnel, report to the main hall immediately." The voice of the hideout's commander said, "Shikome troopers, head to the entrance and hold them back at all costs." the fact that the Shikome troopers were sent to give enough time for the rest of the hideout to prepare sent one message. This was bad. Chao and Isamu acted on instinct as they grabbed their gear and headed for the main hall.

All throughout the hideout chaos reigned; people were running through the corridors in all directions as they scrambled to defend their home. When they both reached the main hall they saw that most of the armed personnel had already gathered there. Hiroshi was looking around confusedly and hurried up to them when he saw them.

"Hey!" He yelled, "What the hell is this? It's gotta be a drill, right?" The young ninja said before he was interrupted by the tell-tale clicking noise of Asuna's walking stick. The old woman came hobbling out into the root, flanked by two guards. Her face destroyed any hope the young man might have of this being a drill.

* * *

In the other end of the base, near the thick steel door that led to the blasted world above, fifty men and women, dressed in white and with heavy guns in their hands, were watching the door in front of them intently. Hate gleamed in their eyes as they readied their weapons and spread out to seek cover.

Beyond that gate was the airlock to the outside world, the door that had only minutes ago been breached by the invaders. Immediately upon the door's destruction, however, a chain of powerful wards had activated on the second door, making the thick steel construction impossible to get through for a few minutes. However the azure-blue glow that was covering the walls was slowly fading, the wards were vanishing.

Then, the second the glow had completely disappeared, the giant doors screamed in protest as they were forced open. The cables and electrical wires around the door burst when it was forced open and sparks started to rain down in cascades. In the crack between them the Shikome troopers could suddenly see a robed figure that held the doors apart with his bare hands, something utterly impossible. The soldiers, however, didn't hesitate a second.

"Fire!" Their leader yelled and with a wild battle cry they unleashed a swarm of glowing beams of light against the man. The man's head snapped up as the command was given and not one single bolt reached him before it was intercepted by a large disc of inky blackness that speared in front of him. Behind this shield of darkness the man stood, still holding the gates apart.

"Emptiness..." He said calmly, "Kill them" a vaguely humanoid shape shot out from the disc, faster than the eye could see, and flew towards the white-clothed men in front of the door. The first man it reached didn't even have time to widen his eyes before it had decapitated him. The red cascade of blood that shot out from his severed neck sprayed across his white clothes as his body limply fell to the ground. The other soldiers only perceived a black blur passing them before they realized what had happened to their comrade. Several of them looked back only to see the blur approaching again.

This was the last thing any of them saw. When the man, after a few seconds, let go of the doors and stepped inside the corridor it had become a slaughterhouse. All across the hallway body-parts lay. Heads, arms and legs lay strewn across the floor, blood seeping out of them and spreading rapidly, like a red deluge, across the floor. In the middle of all this a shadowy figure, one seemingly female, stood; waiting for its next command.

"Return." The man said as he walked deeper into the hideout. The shadow dashed towards the man and dived into his shadow. Like into water, the figure disappeared as it reached the shadow and the man walked on, as he walked deeper into the halls tendrils of darkness came seeping out behind him. These tentacles of shadow reached out across the floor, devouring the dead as it reached them, and crawled up along the walls and the roof. Soon this darkness was covering every inch of the hallway, following the man as he descended into the base.

* * *

"All personnel; fortify the main hall." Echoed through the base, the soldiers scrambled to defend their home and ran in all directions. Chao and Isamu was about to follow them but was stopped by Asuna.

"Not you…" The ancient woman said, "You will follow me." Without offering a word of explanation she turned around and walked out of the hall. Chao and Isamu followed her after a second. Neither knew what the old woman was planning but the tone in her voice had been one that would accept no questioning.

Following the sound of her clicking staff the two youngsters hurried through the corridor. The hall they were walking through was one that almost no one had set foot in, the private section of Asuna. Their path led to a large command central where several men were sitting in front of computer screens. Asuna hobbled up to one of these screens and pointed at it.

"Look." was all she said. They both looked at the screen and paled when they saw what it showed. The screen showed the data from a security camera near the entrance. A lone man was currently walking through the hallway, calmly and confidently he walked ever deeper into the base, darkness itself crawling behind him, crawling on the floor, along the ceiling and the walls, a churning, bubbling mass of darkness.

"That's…" Chao whispered, "…it's_him_, isn't it?" She turned to her great grandmother, who only nodded.

"We won't survive this," Asuna said, "The only way out of here is back in time."

"But the charging isn't done yet!" Isamu said, fear making its way into the hardened young man. "It won't be enough to send us back!"

"It will be enough," Asuna said, "If we only send two, that is."

Chao looked at the old woman for a second.

"You are planning to leave the others here, aren't you?" She asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"Yes," Asuna said, her features immediately becoming hard as steel, "The engineers are already converting the energy, within five minutes you'll go back in time.

* * *

The soldiers of the hideout were tough people, hardened veterans born into a world that hated them. People who knew that their entire lives consisted of fighting. They were elite soldiers, deadly in both close and ranged combat. The gathered firepower and martial skill of these people, consisting of mages and swordsmen as well as normal soldiers, could stop an entire horde of demons. These brave men and women were ready to face anything.

But not this.

They could not be ready for this. Nothing could have readied them for it. The doors to the main hall exploded and the man entered, darkness following in his wake. Upon seeing him the soldiers felt a mind-numbing terror grip their hearts, paralyzing them. A human, one dressed in black, wielding dark magic. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was. It was the traitor who had plunged the world into darkness, the man whose name had been stricken from every record, who now was known only as Thanatos; death. He had come, heralded by chaos and destruction.

For a precious few seconds everything was still, still and silent. The men were paralyzed by fear and Thanatos stood still, the hood drooping down across his face, only the mouth being visible. But still they could feel his gaze upon them, he was watching them. Watching them like insects. Fear gave, in many of them, way to despair. The terrible reverie was then broken when Thanatos raised his hand and pointed towards them.

"Die." The word echoed through the room and from behind him, hundreds of ropy tentacles shot out across the room, tentacles hungry for blood.

"Barrier!" the commander shouted, snapping his men out of the fear induced trance, and the mages, men in white robes posted through the hall, started to desperately chant. Just as the tentacles were about to ensnare the mages a large wall of energy rose between the tentacles and the humans. The tainted appendices all struck the barrier at once, like a tidal wave of corruption, and were incinerated by the bright magic. A scream rose from behind the man and the remains of the tentacles retracted behind their master.

"Hold the line!" the commander yelled, "Lock him out!" the mages reached out again and the barrier, which had weakened after the attack, flared up again. A fortification of bright yellow light now separated the dark mage form the others. Thanatos was unfazed however. The impenetrable field of light didn't seem to matter to him at all. The dark mage approached the field, the blackness behind him crawling out into the giant hallway, along the floor and up the walls. It reached the roof and soon all the men could see beyond the protective barrier was a sea of darkness.

In the middle of this abyss all the soldiers could see was two pale hands and the part of his face that wasn't obscured by the hood. In the middle of the former his mouth opened and a dead voice suddenly echoed through the room.

"Do you realize where you are making your mistake?" Thanatos asked the mages, his voice sending chills down their spines. "This barrier ends where the wall starts…" he continued after a few seconds, "Do you think solid rock will stop me?"

Before any of the men could answer the ground under them rumbled. With a ripping noise dozens of giant spikes shot out of the ground all around the chamber, each and every one of these directly below the mages. Not one of them had any chance to escape the crimson spears that now shot through their bodies. Two dozen men were lifted into the air, screaming in pain as they were impaled. With a blinding flash the barrier dissipated and Thanatos advanced.

"Hold the line!" The commander roared as the men, paralyzed with utter terror, were about to flee, "Fire! Fire damn it!" The men obeyed instinctively and started to fire their weapons. Lances of bright energy flooded the hallway as the soldiers desperately tried to stop the advancing mage. However yet again, just like at the entrance, a dark disc appeared in front of him, swallowing the bolts. Only a second later the dark shield unleashed a shadowy projectile towards the men.

It was then that Sheng made his move. The giant monk dashed forwards, blurring as he moved too fast for normal eyes to see, and met the shadow halfway. The monk roared as he spun his staff around and knocked the shadow away. The indistinct figure spun around and crashed into the wall.

"Keep fighting!" Sheng roared with a thundering voice, "Fight! For your families! For your lives! For everything!" The giant monk then leapt towards Thanatos himself, preparing to unleash a swarm of rapid attacks against the man who had forsaken his entire species.

Then he died.

Before he had any chance to act Thanatos rammed his hand through the monk's chest and tore out the heart. As the giant man dropped to the floor Thanatos held up the heart in front of his mouth and took a deep breath. He breathed out and the heart turned to dust as the man sent a giant cloud of vapors against the soldiers. The men raised their hands to protect themselves but all this gave them was a good look on their hands as the skin melted off them. They barely had time to realize what was happening before the rot reached their bodies and heads and sent them falling to the ground, screaming in pain as they fell apart.

Within a few seconds, ninety percent of the soldiers were dead. The few that remained were mostly the swordsmen, who had managed to get out in time, and a few others. These few people charged him with a courage born out of desperation. The dark mage held out his hands and let long claws grow from them before he met the charge.

The dark mage moved so fast that the swordsmen, who now charged in desperation, weren't even able to see him as he reached them and with a series of flowing motions, terrible in their grace, opened their throats one after one. As he stopped behind them they all fell to the ground, clutching their slit throats as the blood poured out.

Above this carnage however, the lithe figure of Hiroshi was flying through the air. The young man's eyes were filled with tears but his heart was filled with anger. He darted above Thanatos and flew through the air behind him. Sheng had died in front of his eyes. The brave man that was like a father was dead. Hiroshi had been paralyzed for a few seconds but when Yasu punched him in the face he had snapped back to reality.

Hiroshi flew through the air, descending towards the inky darkness behind Thantatos. But when he was only a meter away from hitting the darkness he twisted and used the technique he just had mastered, mid-air shundo, to launch himself against Thanatos' unprotected back. From the darkness, from behind, silently and deadly, everything the ninja was.

"_Watch me Sheng…" _was the thought that echoed through his head. _"…I'll avenge you!"_

Thanatos spun around, caught him by the throat effortlessly, broke it and threw him back into the darkness in the span of a second. Hiroshi didn't even have time to force out a desperate scream from his broken throat before he was swallowed whole.

But then a shot echoed through the chamber and Thanatos didn't have time to spin around again before he was struck in the back by a bullet that tore him apart. The dark mage seemingly fell apart and an inhuman scream echoed through the chamber. Those few people remaining people watched, wide-eyed, as the man that haunted their nightmares fell down to the floor, his robes sinking together revealing that his body was gone.

At the end of the hallway Yasu pulled the reloading mechanism. The Witch hunter round had worked… It had vaporized him… Yasu closed his eyes and let out a shivering breath before he noticed the rumbling.

The ground was shaking and the darkness behind Thanatos only seemed to grow thicker. Yasu rose from the ground and looked at the darkness that suddenly surged. Before any of the survivors could do anything the sea of darkness ahead moved in a tidal wave and crashed down upon them. Yasu's eyes widened as he realized something and he desperately tore out his pistol. Putting is against his head he quickly pulled the trigger, he would die clean! But the thick ropy tentacles grabbed his arm and pulled the gun out of the way of his head before he had a chance to pull the trigger completely. The bulled flew past his head and before Yasu could do anything else than scream in despair he was swallowed by the black sea.

The sea churned and boiled as it swirled together, creating a maelstrom of darkness that seemed to swallow itself and reshape itself into a humanoid being. The darkness took on the shape and look of the man that had stood in the chamber just moments before. Thanatos smiled faintly to himself as he continued down the hallway.

* * *

Asuna looked at the meter and desperately begged for it to rise faster. They still needed two minutes and the cameras had showed how Thanatos was approaching. The old woman felt the icy hand of fear clutching around her heart upon realizing that every single man and woman that could bear weapons in the hideout had been massacred in only three minutes by him. All that stood between Thanatos and the two kids she had placed all her hopes in was an old woman and some researchers.

The old woman sighed as she realized something. If she wanted to send them back… that would be the only way to buy them time. She turned to look at Chao, who was currently working with Isamu trying to push a large crate in front of the door, and prayed to whatever higher powers that was left that they would be able to do it before she walked towards the door and punched in the code.

"What are you doing?!" Chao yelled. Asuna just looked back at her and smiled.

"Good luck Chao-chan." She said before hobbling out into the corridor and closing it behind her, sealing it permanently. With grim determination she hobbled down the hallway, towards the approaching dark mage.

She met him halfway and the sight of her was enough to stop him in his tracks.

"Amusing…" his voice was nothing like how she remembered it, it was a parody of him. "Are you planning to stop me? Do they send out the old and the infirm now?"

"Don't underestimate me Negi." She said before she pulled out something form her clothes. It was the pactio card she had gotten from him all those years ago. Suddenly she noticed something in his eyes, it almost looked like expectation. However she shook it off and raised it. "Contract execution!" She yelled, "Asuna Kagurazaka. Ten minutes!" As the filthy magic rushed from him into her she emptied her mind and moulded Kanka for the first time in decades. The filthy feeling of tainted magic defiled her very soul but she ignored it all and charged into her last battle.

* * *

Thanatos smiled to himself as his old ministra made a desperate attempt to stop him. It was a pity she had fled from his captivity all those years ago; she would have become a fine member of his Bondsmen. However he wasn't there to play.

With one fluid motion he tore her head off. Her aged body crashed into the wall as it lost that which had directed it and Thanatos stepped up to the door she had exited from. With one single punch he tore it to pieces and entered. Inside he saw something that made him quirk one eye. In the giant chamber he had entered a large orb of energy was swirling in mid-air. In front of it two young humans stood and both of them had turned to look at him. The naked fear in their eyes shone like the sun and Thanatos advanced.

* * *

It was over…

That was the sole thought that went through Isamu's head as he saw Thanatos, Asuna's torn-off head dangling from his hand. His life flashed past before his eyes as each step of the dark mage was like the beating drum of death. Out of the corner of his eye he saw how Chao had frozen too.

Then a powerful magic field suddenly was created around Thanatos. On the bridge above them the head scientist stood with a wand raised, his eyes wide in fear.

"Hurry!" he yelled, "Make the jump! One of you might still make it!" That was all he could say before Thanatos shattered the barrier and shot a beam of red light upwards that incinerated him completely. However Isamu had gotten snapped out of his fear-induced paralyzation.

"I love you…" He said to Chao before he slammed a hand down on her Cassiopeia unit and drew his sword. The air around Chao lit up immediately as the energy was pulled to it and immediately shaped itself into a sphere of energy. Isamu charged. His life didn't flash by in front of him as he neared the dark mage. Instead all he saw in front of him was Chao. Memories of how he first had met her, memories of how they had become a team, memories of the kiss.

Isamu leapt at Thanatos without fear in his heart. He felt neither fear nor hesitation, not even when Thanatos rammed his arm through his chest and made his flesh turn to dust.

* * *

"Isamu!" Chao screamed as the boy she loved more than anything fell apart in front of her eyes. She was about to try to reach him but stopped right before her hands touched the field separating them. The dark mage pulled his hand out of the young man's body and as he did this his victim collapsed into dust immediately.

"I am impressed…" The smooth voice of the dark mage said; his voice totally devoid of emotions, "You all put up much more of a fight than I expected… No matter, now you die too." He raised his hand and fired a beam of blood red light against her; the girl instinctively raised her arms to protect herself. Her world exploded with light and she fell into darkness.

When she opened her eyes again that first thing she realized was that she was lying on a hill covered in grass.


	39. On the road to Armageddon

Chapter 38: On the road to Armageddon

* * *

When the old woman's story was over and the dire future of the world laid bare the underground chamber had fallen silent. Takamichi felt that his mouth was dry as he supported Chao. The gathered mages had all seen the power Negi could muster and were unable to doubt what the old woman had said. In the end the old dean took up the recording device, turned around and looked at Albiero, to whom he handed the item, with weariness written across his face. 

"Contact the SESF and the AAA..." His old voice said hoarsely, "Inform the Security Council and convince them put the Valkyrie protocol in effect." The gathered mages looked at the old man with shocked expressions. Albiero, however, was just as unreadable as ever.

"I will..." was all the androgynous mage said as he faded away, leaving the remaining mages to deal with the aftermath of what had happened.

In the sanctum that Abliero called home said mage suddenly reappeared. Walking briskly through the hallways he soon reached his goal, the large chamber directly below the world tree. In this giant, circular chamber a secret only he knew about resided. During the years he had spent trapped in these hallways he had found that this very chamber was a nexus for the energies that coruscated through the world tree every twenty-third year. Walking into this room and out on the bridge towards the centre of the chamber he fiddled with the device in his hand.

"That is would come to this..." he said to himself. That they would have to fight Negi… the young boy he had had such high hopes for. The boy he had been so certain would surpass his father. Life… was a cruel thing, Albiero thought before he reached the middle of the bridge. Here the energies of the world tree were at their most powerful, together with his arcane powers it was more than enough to do what he planned to accomplish. Focusing, he traced intricate spell patters in his mind and after a minute a blinding flash drenched the room in light. When it vanished, Albiero Imma was gone.

On another plane of existence a similar flash suddenly exploded in front of a giant, fortress-like building, This light heralded his arrival and when it had vanished Albiero stood in front of the huge stairs that led up to it's entrance. Without a second of hesitation he started to ascend them.

* * *

The mages' society is a masterpiece of subterfuge. It is a society with over a hundred million people, nearly five million of these living amongst humans. Despite these things, however, they have managed to stay hidden from even the most paranoid of humans. This is obviously to a large part thanks to their command of magic but raw power never stays hidden. So in order to stay hidden they must use guile. The finesse and skill with which they have spun a veil of lies around mankind to protect themselves would be the envy of any mundane secret group. Dozens of contingency plans are prepared for any kind of situation and in theory the mages are able to deal with anything. 

The most drastic of the measures put up to ensure the safety of their society is the Valkyrie protocol. It is meant to deal with the direst of threats, like the awakening of ancient beings and large scale demonic invasions, when they took place in the mundane world. This protocol will always be given highest priority when activated and only a three to one majority vote by the Security Council, the highest echelon of the SESF, can activate it.

It was this council that now had gathered in the Silver Hall, the giant chamber from where the titanic organization, whose sole purpose was to maintain the secrecy of the mages' society was ruled, had gathered. The gathered mages, all of them powerful and wise men and women, looked at the screen behind the spokesman's pulpit. Here the very message that, only one hour ago had been displayed in the ruined chamber under Mahora. Asuna's old voice was echoing through the chamber.

"... I have to be brief so I'll give you the short version. On the third day of the Mahora festival, year 2007, around 15:00, we don't know the exact time, he will open a giant portal to the underworld. I know it's supposed to be impossible but he did it. Within one hour Mahora was swarming with demons, within three there wasn't one human left alive on the campus, within six the SESF scrambled whatever resources they could and tried to retake Mahora, within seven they were all dead. Then... at midnight exactly, Malfeas himself entered the world. He brought all of hell with himself and started to wipe out humanity. Now, one century after he came here, the only traces left of humanity are scattered hideouts. We're hunted like rats and on the brink of extinction. As I'm recording this message Negi is butchering his way through our last defenses. We're doomed and I'm not doing this to save this world. I can only hope you can accept that this is what will happen if you do nothing and do something about it. And no half-measures, get the entire army there, smash them back into the hell they crawled out of." Suddenly another voice could be heard in the background.

"He's coming!" the voice was filled with panic and Asuna looked backwards, she turned forwards again and reached out towards something.

"Stop him..." The old woman said, her voice pleading "for the sake of everything, stop him." Then the image faded and silence reigned in the hallway for a few moments. Then the man who had brought this recording to them, Albiero Imma, stepped up to the pulpit. His clear voice rung through the chamber as he told the men present what had happened.

"This recording was brought to us by the supposed time-traveler Chao Lingshen. Normally these claims would be viewed as nonsense but there are many things supporting her claims. Amongst other things the fact that, further back than two years, there are no records of her anywhere. Roughly two years ago she came out of nowhere. There is also the fact that she is in possession of techno-magic artifacts way beyond anything we have seen. Weighing all this together with the fact that Negi Springfield, a mage well known to be very powerful, is, beyond any doubt, tainted, I hereby request that the Valkyrie protocol is immediately put in effect in the Mahora campus." A murmur rose from the gathered mages at this. After a few seconds one of the mages present, an old woman from the southern part of the magic world, rose and requested the word.

"Do you view this scenario as likely sir Albiero?" She asked. Albiero rolled his eyes at this. He couldn't escape his heroic reputation it seemed. Even now countless mages viewed his word as more reliable than all evidence in the world. Still, this time he was glad to have it.

"More than likely." He said, "I taught Negi once, he was only eleven years old at the time but in one year he went from a young child to a mage on par with many adults and his power has only grown since then. Add to that the fact that when we discovered him we found the Thousand Master himself with a crushed throat, only seconds from death, and I can with certainty say that we can't assume anything. The power Negi now possesses is beyond anything. We may very well be dealing with a new Thanata."

As the last word was spoken the matter was already settled. Thanata was the nightmare of the mages' society, a proof of how terrible the arts they all used really were. A dark legend, all the more terrible since there was no doubt that it really had happened. Within a minute the votes were cast.

They unanimously voted for putting the Valkyrie protocol in effect.

* * *

The die had been cast and the mages went to work immediately. Knowing that their survival as a species, the very world's survival, hung on their ability to act fast dozens of brilliant lights exploded all around the Mahora campus on the evening of the first day of the festival and revealed dozens, hundreds of mages. An entire army of robed men were, within ten minutes, deployed all around Mahora. 

A hundred mages encircled the outer corners of the campus, forming a ring around it. The others were posted out all around the campus so that their positions would form a six-edged star, with the world tree in the middle of it all. The teachers of Mahora had prepared for the arrival of these men and at every spot where the mages now stood the area was closed off to the celebrating students. Despite a great curiosity from many festival goers not one managed to enter the closed-off areas.

At twenty-hundred hours the mages begun to chant. Over two hundred voices chanted in perfect unison as they begun to weave a spell of epic proportions, a spell only used once before in the history of mankind.

This titanic spell demanded more out of these mages than anything else. Their human reserves of magic were drained in no time and it was only thanks to the power of the world tree, which was now flooding the area, that two hundred mages, all of them elites who had trained to the extremes in the arts of weaving mighty spells, was enough for this epic spell. The power in it was too great to comprehend for mortal men.

Exactly two hours after they had begun the mages chanted the last verse of the spell. Two hundred voices rose to a crescendo and suddenly fell quiet. It was then that the sky suddenly flared up. The partying came to a screeching halt as the heavens above them all now shone brighter than the sun. The light suddenly shattered glass, breaking into thousands, millions of pieces. The pieces rained down over the campus like a brilliantly glowing summer rain, above it a black hole in the sky.

The shards of light slowed down, moving slower and slower as they descended only to come to a halt when the first shards had hit the ground. The festival goers stood as if enchanted by the glowing rain. Then the specks of light started to move upwards again, this time lifting the people with them. The festival-goers had become utterly hypnotized by the light and didn't even react when they were sucked into the sky.

All of the people of Mahora were lifted into the sky and into the giant black hole, even those inside floated through the very roofs as Mahora was emptied of life. The countless shards of heaven re-assembled again and sealed the hypnotized people into this dark space.

On the ground now only the two-hundred mages and the magic teachers of Mahora remained. The former all slumped to the ground as one as the heavy cost of the spell finally took its toll on them.

Then, all around the campus, thousands of lights flashed up, in the streets, on the roofs, even in the skies light flooded the world. All around the campus countless mages now appeared, utterly dwarfing the earlier teleportation cascade and brining not hundreds, but thousands of mages into Mahora. Not only mages came, but also giant airships, titanic creatures made out of metal, the list was endless.

On the formerly empty streets of Mahora an entire division of the Mundus Magicus's armed forces now stood. Twenty thousand trained combat mages, one hundred giant Armageddon hoverships, one thousand adamantine Ravager Beasts, five hundred Hellfire dreadnaught walkers and three thousand Swarmer skimships.

Even when not counting the army division Mahora was still filled with members of the supernatural auxiliary. First of these beings were a full dozen of dragons, these members of the most ancient of races had all felt the coming of a great change and had immediately heeded the call for warriors.

Next were several incredible menageries of supernatural beings. In the gardens of Mahora hundreds of different Manticores and Chimeras, together with their handlers, from the southern jungles of Mundus Magicus now stood, On the main plaza hundreds of trolls sent by the Troll king of the Undermountain looked around themselves, on the rooftops a full battalion of Fae wardancers, sent by the faerie kings, now waited. The seas were filled with mermen warriors of the Melusin tribe and in the deep shadows of the campus another, tentative, ally stood, dozens of vampiric death knights and their dark hordes. Even the vampire king of the frozen north had sent his best, claiming that he did not want to rule over the ashes of a world.

The gathered forces of the world had come, and they would not surrender this world without a fight.

* * *

"Are you out of your god damn mind?!" Takamichi yelled at the scarred mage who had been tasked with the defense of Mahora. The man was a veteran of the great war and widely considered a hero. However he had just said something that had made Takamichi furious. 

"We are facing a threat from the lower realms that is beyond anything we've faced before." The man said calmly. "As the situation is now we cannot take any chances and you know it."

"You can't put her in that thing!" Takamichi yelled, "She's already catatonic for god's sake! Are you going to put her in the situation she was in as a kid again?! As the battery for a weapon?! Do you even know the side-effects?!"

What Takamichi was referring to was the gigantic construction that had been brought along to Mahora by the army. It was a large tower-like structure with a large plateau on the top of it where thousands of magic runes covered the floor. These runes were gathered in circles, all of them encircling the middle of the plateau. This tower was also an exact replica of the one where Nagi had found Asuna all those years ago.

The Thousand Master had found the little girl, only four years old at the time, during the great war that had ravaged the mages' world several years ago. She had been used by mages who had empowered her nullifying abilities until she could create entire zones of dead magic. However the side-effects had left her emotionally drained and for a large part of their journeys with the girl the members of Nagi's group had only rarely seen her show any real displays of emotions. It was only at the end that her humanity came back. Albiero had said that if she had been used much more she'd permanently lose her humanity. It was pure luck that Nagi and his companions had saved her before it happened.

And now those bastards had dug out a replica of that infernal creation and wanted to use her again. Takamichi had overheard it though and managed to reach the hospital bed she was lying in just before them. After the nightmarish fight in the chamber and Negi's escape they had only just managed to save her, the wounds had been terrible, there was no doubt that Negi had known what he had done. However Asuna had lived, as had Nagi. His throat had been crushed but they had managed to heal it just in time to avoid him suffocating.

But the horrors Negi had inflicted on them had made them both snap. Both the young girl and the Thousand Master were now catatonic, lying in a hospital bed each, oblivious to the world. Asuna's anti-magic powers had prevented both her and Nagi from being affected by the spell that had sealed away the people of Mahora. Takamichi had hoped that they would be evacuated too but this had not been the case. They had, from the moment they got to know of the fact that the "magic canceller" was in Mahora, planned to do this to her.

The scarred general in front of Takamichi only sighed.

"Then what do you want us to do?" He asked, "Throw away a weapon that might save this world just so we can spare one human the pain? Sacrifice billions for one? I don't think so." He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Two armored wizards came out from behind him and advanced on the bed behind Takamichi, "Asuna Kagurazaka is now in the custody of the SESF." The scarred man said, "Any attempts to interfere will be met with lethal force." Takamichi clenched his fists and if a hand hadn't suddenly landed on his shoulder there had been no telling what he would have done.

"Wait." the voice of Albiero came from behind, Takamichi looked back into his old friend's face and saw the man having an unreadable look on his face. "I'll handle this Takamichi-kun." The mage said before he walked up to the scarred general and whispered something in his ears, the latter's brow furrowed and he looked at Albiero.

"What do you mean?" He said and Albiero made a gesture towards Asuna before he continued to whisper. The General's face got a musing look at it.

"So what you're basically saying is that the Spellshatterer could be empowered if we put Nagi Springfield with her and that we might avoid the emotional drain?" Takamichi's eyes widened at that and he froze. No… what was Al doing?! He was aiding them!

"Yes." Albiero said, "From what I've seen it requires both magic power and Asuna's canceling abilities to use. Put him with her and it will work much better since the power you will use won't come from tearing apart her mind."

"So be it." The general turned around and looked at his subordinated. "You two, go get the Thousand Master and bring him to the Spellshatterer, you got one hour."

"Yes sir!" two of the soldiers left immediately. Takamichi managed to snap out of his stupor and grabbed hold of Albiero, anger seething in him. Before he could say anything, however, Albiero stopped him.

"What can we do?" he asked and in that one moment Takamichi saw something he had never seen in the androgynous mage's face before. Sorrow, fear, it was so wrong to see it in his face but was still there. "We're up against Negi." He continued, "Nagi's kid, a man lacking all mercy and humanity. You saw what he can do. We have no choice but to do everything we can. This is not the matter of a kid seduced and tricked by darkness, Negi is darkness now. You saw what he did; humanity is a foreign concept to him now. We have to do it." Albiero let go of the man and walked outside, leaving his friend in the room.

Takamichi stood still as the soldiers lifted Asuna and carried her away, the girl not moving at all. After a few seconds he screamed with rage and sent a blast of Kanka into the wall. As the shards of concrete flew around him one thought blazed in his head.

"_Damn you Negi! I will kill you for this!"_

* * *

It was on the second day that something happened outside the magical barrier that now encircled Mahora, stopping any mundanes from entering the area. The mages, already paranoid about what was about to happen, immediately answered in force; teleporting in immediately. In only a minute the intruders were surrounded by nearly a thousand mages, with two hoverships supporting them from the sky. 

Said invaders turned out to be a large group of heavily armed people, wearing archaic samurai uniforms and holding a sword in their hands. Albiero, who had gone with the mages, recognized the leader however. He pushed his way through the lines and walked up to them, the man being one he recognized.

"Eishun." He said, greeting his old comrade. "It's good to see you." Eishun was wearing the same kinds of clothes he had worn during the war and stood in front of a large force, at least a few hundred, of Samurai.

"Where's my daughter?" Eishun merely said, his eyes blazing with anger, Albiero was taken aback by the venom in his voice, that wasn't the Eishun he knew.

"We do not know," He answered, "We haven't been able to find her; the man who kidnapped her is nowhere to be found."

"Perhaps that's because you expect him to remain here? Any fool could see that he ran off the first thing he did when he kidnapped her and you are spending your time sitting here?!" He snapped.

"He's not gone." Albiero said, trying to pacify the man, "He's here, and even if he isn't, he'll be here by tomorrow, we are certain of that. We know what he's planning and what you see around you is only a small part of what we have gathered to stop him. When he comes, we will be ready."

"I'm not going to take the chance," Eishun said, "That's why they are here." He indicated the people behind him, "The God's Cry were very interested in what is going on here, a threat this big will inevitably threaten Kyoto."

"Who told you that?" Albiero had, even if he did want to tell Eishun, been forced to obey the Valkyrie protocol that forbid all mentioning of what was about to happen in order to avoid mass panic. Eishun seemingly knew everything.

"I did." A voice said. From the lines of samurai the young girl Setsuna appeared. She was wearing the traditional God's Cry clothes, right down to the straw-hat, and had a hard look in her face. "And don't start with me about protocols. My one duty is to Konoka-ojou-sama, nowhere else."

The samurai walked forwards, into the campus, and Albiero, even if he was happy for the reinforcements, couldn't help but be saddened as he remembered what he had overheard her say to Motoko only a few days earlier. This was one of the things he hated most about war. In the end he reached out and put a hand on Setsuna's shoulder.

"Is it, really?" He asked her softly. "What about your duty to your heart? To Kotaro?" Setsuna froze when Albiero spoke those words, the androgynous mage cutting into her soul with those words. However she did not falter.

"Konoka-ojou-sama is gone because I spent my time moping around and thinking of him." She suddenly said coldly, "I owe my life to Eishun-sama, if I can repay that by dying when giving his daughter back, so be it." Her voice was that of someone who had abandoned all emotions, thrown them away. Albiero sighed sadly as he saw her walk away. A voice came drifting from behind.

"It's no use…" the voice of Aoyama Motoko said sadly, "She's committed herself to this. Not even I could reach her, it's like she cut her own heart out." The samurai came up beside him.

"Is the only way for us to win that we sacrifice everything that we are blessed with?" Albiero asked himself and bowed to the young woman before teleporting away.

* * *

The clock moved, slowly, inexorably, ticking the minutes away and the shorter arm slowly approaching the number 3. All over Mahora the mages and their allies were rushing to finish the last preparation. On the roofs large spearhead-shaped crystals on rotating platforms were aimed towards the sky, prepared to burn any aerial attackers from the skies. The streets were patrolled and barricaded by both mages, supernatural beings and large metal constructs, each and every one of them armed and ready. Giant hoverships surrounded by fast skimmers flew through the air, silently waiting for the enemy. In the middle of the campus a large gleaming tower stood and upon the platform that made up the top of this several mages surrounded a kneeling man with dead eyes who held a teenage girl in his arms, neither of them seemingly capable of moving. 

Then the giant clock on the Mahora church struck twelve. A deep, clear tone rung out through the campus and the people there tensed. The second strike came and they all fell quiet, silence reigned. The third strike came, sounding like the gong heralding Armageddon, and everyone looked around, wishing that they would know from where the enemy would come. The silence yet again became complete. Time and time again the clock echoed until it had struck a full dozen times.

Then the sky itself began to tremble. Above them, the white clouds started to spin around, growing darker and darker. The mages looked up at the swirl forming and felt a twinge of fear in their heart. The ancient part of each mage's mind that warned them of danger thumped away, faster than a raging river, what magic was this? The clouds spun faster and faster, creating a maelstrom in the sky, and the sound of thunder started to ring in their ears.

"Aim the Vindicators!" The commander yelled, his command echoing over the campus via telepathy, and the crystal cannons aimed skywards, their handlers letting their minds flow into the powerful guns and preparing to unleash their immense power towards the roaring skies. The mages readied themselves, any eventual hesitation that they were facing the gravest threat ever wiped away. It was then that another swirl formed, just as huge as the first. Then another appeared, and yet another. In the end, five giant swirls were tearing apart the skies above them. Albiero, who had silently watched the whole thing, suddenly gasped.

"Oh my..." He realized what the swirls were forming. When the thunder grew more powerful it became even more evident as forks of lightning came out from the centers of the maelstroms, creeping along the clouds like glowing worms and vanishing into the other holes. These serpentine thunderbolts moved with immense speed and only became more and more numerous until their light formed a five-edged star in the sky.

The roar of thunder was now constant, deafening, and tore into the ears of the people at the campus. The Fae especially were tormented by the roaring sky and held their hands over their sensitive ears, blood seeping out of them. A final display came when a burst of lightning spat out from all the holes as one. These myriad lightning forks dashed around inside the star with lightning speed, forming a seal that made the hearts of everyone present freeze to ice. The seal of Mafeas, a wicked mark that spoke of damnation and death now blazed in the sky. Then just as suddenly, the roar of thunder ceased, the blood stained clouds seemed to grind to a halt and everything in creation, man, plant and spirit followed suit as a thunderous voice carved through the air.

"Tremble, insignificant worms, for I come now." it said. "Today your world will end; run, hide, give me the pleasure of hunting you, of finding and destroying you," The sky blazed with power, thunderbolts began to crash into the ground, tearing Mahora apart "Amuse me as I wipe out the very memory of you!" The holes in the sky suddenly expanded, a red glow now emanating from it, and five immense rays of blood-red energy shot down from them and crashed into the ground, everything in their path being incinerated and waves of heat burning everything near them. Just thereafter a blast of even greater power shot out from the holes, traveling down the pillars of crimson light and hitting the ground with explosions that rocked the world.

Without any warning the ground beneath it was christened in destruction, annihilating everything in the way of this hope-crushing array of power as it incinerated, destroyed, burned the whole face of the battle field. Chaos erupted all over the campus as the mages didn't know how to combat this threat. Panic spread, the feeling of powerlessness destroying the mages' will to fight. They stood utterly powerless as the very earth was torn apart. Their relief when the beams receded back into the sky, however, was a short as it was intense when they realized what now had appeared in the places were they hit. In each of these areas a hole in the world had been cut, through which the hordes of Malfeas, every single demonkind that had ever haunted mankind now poured out.

Despite the surprise, however, the mages scrambled to counter the invaders. The cannons on the roofs and on the hovercrafts turned downwards and unleashed a torrent of magical energy that tore asunder the advancing hordes, thousands of voices rose in spell casting, swords were drawn, artifacts were summoned and the task force met the attack. Within twenty seconds after the gates' appearance total war raged on the campus.


	40. Total War

**Chapter 39: Total War **

* * *

On one of the rooftops on the outskirts of the war-torn campus, where neither demon nor mage had put his foot, thirteen men had appeared. Each and every one of them wore clothes the deepest black and their eyes burned with dark malice. Their wickedness was almost palpable and the air seemed to boil around them.

In the lead of these thirteen men a middle-age man in a long trench coat, with his head covered by a black, broad-brimmed hat, stood. The man walked up to the end of the root and put up one of his feet on the low railing as he leaned on his raised knee and looked out across the ravaged campus.

"Gentlemen…" He said, his hoarse tenor soft, almost longing. "Today will be the finest day we have even seen. Today shall be one of endless glory for our kind." He looked at a group of Ministra, far away, who were desperately trying to stop a horde of demonic monsters from reaching their mages, blood splattering across the streets as they were slaughtered.

"The book of history," the man continued, "for eons turned by human hands and written by these descendants of apes, will finally be given to those who deserve it." Far away, in the sea surrounding Mahora, gigantic monsters were rising from the water, the powerful explosions having awoken these monstrosities from their eternal slumber deep in the seas.

Spreading his arms wide the man's voice rose. "No longer shall this jewel amongst planes, the one place holding the gateways to the rest of creation, the very key to dominating it, be ruled by these complacent critters!" He looked as one of the dragons was caught by the tentacles of a gigantic squid-like demon and pulled to the ground. "It is time for us, the denizens of the lowest of realms to begin our ascent to the heavens!"

He dramatically pointed to the skies above him where no doubt the very armies of heaven were rallying for battle. "And then, once we have annihilated these miserable creatures we shall keep climbing towards the real battle in the higher realms!" He pumped his fist high to get the explosive combined roar of the armies of Malfeas to show they wanted blood. "Let's give our eternal foes above a real show of our blood thirst, our thirst for vengeance!" He looked back at the eager men behind him.

"My boys…" He said as he turned around and looked at them. "How long has it not been since we tasted the flesh of mortals, since we gorged on their meat and souls? Today it is time for us to feast beyond any feast we have ever been offered. The great feast has begun! Let us savor the despair and terror of a dying world!"

He spun around to look out across the chaos of battle again, his long trench coat fluttering behind him "Malebranche!" he screamed, "Let us spread the word of our lord! And the word is carnage!" The Malebranche, elite guard of Malfeas himself, launched themselves into the sky, bloodthirst singing in their heads.

* * *

"Zanmaken-san-no-tachi!" Motoko roared as she unleashed the third stage of her school's technique. The evil-banishing technique normally used to deal with singular demons carved an arc of glowing ki in the air that shot forwards and instantly banished over a dozen demons in an instant. Her older sister Tsuruko looked at her little sister as she effortlessly decapitated a large bug-like demon.

"Is that some kind of stab at me for having the ni-no-tachi as signature move Motoko-chan?!" Tsuruko yelled, referring to the fact that her skill with the second stage of the evil-banishing technique was that which she was most famous for. Somehow her younger sister had managed to create a third stage and kept it hidden from her.

Dodging a large club swung by an ogre and gutting it she leapt out of the way of a large burst of fire from a giant hellhound. The infernal canine died quickly as she cut it in two.

"What makes you think that, aneue?" Motoko somehow managed to sound innocent even though she was dancing in a rain of blood from her enemies, dispatching them left and right. Spinning under the claws of a large winged demon and slicing its throat open she leapt up on the, now head- and lifeless, ogre.

"Just a feeling I…!" Tsuruko stopped and her eyed widened. She barely managed to spin around and parry a blow that made her teeth shake in her mouth. Her face was now only inches from a grinning, fleshless and burning demon's head.

The demon, a hulking brute with red skin but a grinning skull that burned with red fire instead of a normal head and large bat wings, held a large cleaver in his hands and, with a mighty heave, sent her flying backwards.

Twisting around she managed to land on her feet just in time to avoid another attack from the demon. Leaving away she only just managed to get some distance from the demon when her back collided with her sister's. Looking back for a second she saw another demon, one identical to the one in front of her, with a similar cleaver in its hand. Like the demon in front of her it radiated power.

"Ciriatto of the Malebranche." The brute in front of her sister growled, "You, Aoyama Motoko, are my prey."

"Cagnazzo of the Malebranche." The brute in front of Tsuruko growled. "You, Aoyama Tsuruko, are my prey."

* * *

Takamichi's back hit the wall as the demon in front of him, endlessly more powerful that it's kin, sent him flying. Humanoid, but with a snake-like lower body and four arms, each holding a dripping scimitar, it grinned, showing several rows of teeth.

"Scarmiglione of the Malebranche." The demon hissed. "You, Takahata Takamichi, are my prey."

* * *

Albiero noticed that attack too late to do anything else than parry it with a blast of magic. The blue-hot flames that rushed against him were blown away and he managed to get a look on his opponent. This one was way beyond the previous beasts. In front of him, wreathed in black robes spun out of shadows and with blue fire burning in the six eyes that rested in a face too thin to be human, stood a demon he had only heard of before.

"Alichino of the Malebranche." The demon introduced itself with a whispering voice that nonetheless could be clearly heard. "You, Albiero Imma, are my prey."

* * *

Far away from the battlefield, in a place wreathed in darkness, illuminated only by a single sphere of cold light hovering above, Negi Springfield looked into the magic mirror he had conjured. His dead eyes impassively watched the carnage that now tore Mahora apart, the heroics that the desperate defenders of humanity accomplished, the terrors wrought by the demons. All of this made a faint glimmer of joy stir in him.

The cold mage actually felt something akin to happiness at what he saw. The battle had raged for hours now, bodies littered the streets and for every second that passed a hundred new corpses, most of them demonic fell to the ground. However the uneven casualties didn't matter to the dark mage. He had a thousand times more demons to spare.

His body was still sore from what he had accomplished several hours ago. The culmination of all his work had been started when he had single-handedly managed to cut five deep wounds into creation and opened the gates to the nether realms. The insane amounts of power that he been given when the taint utterly claimed him had made him more god than man when it came to power.

Normally one single demon-gate was a great feat only heard of perhaps a few dozen times in history. With the aid of the artifacts Malfeas had supplied and the power that now was his, however, he had single-handedly forced open five of these infernal gates. Mahora now bathed in blood as he soon would begin the final stage of it all.

Summoning normal demons, even opening a gate for them to gain free access to the world, were things man had known of since the dawn of time. The truth about what Negi planned was something far more horrible.

He planned to rewrite the laws of magic themselves.

Far beyond the mortal realm there were beings of titanic power, of such might that they were near almighty. These beings answered to no natural law, however they were forever chained by one of the supernatural laws.

This law bound them to the supernatural planes. If this law was shattered, these beings would be allowed access to the mundane world. The thing that made this such a terrible prospect was that this world, earth, the mortal world, was the one place in creation where the gates to other planes could be found.

By order of the tainted god Malfeas, whom he now served, Negi Springfield would release Malfeas from these chains and let him into this world, thereby letting him loose on all of creation.

It was for the sole purpose of distraction that he had opened those gates; it was for that one purpose that thousands died in the chaotic swirl of battle that now raged across Mahora.

Something stirred behind him and, without looking back, he spoke up.

"Start the ritual; I shall be with you shortly." The presence behind him left immediately and Negi put a hand on the mirror. It flowed as water, changing and twisting as the thing turned to show of the Spellshatterer tower, There his father and the girl he had once devoted everything to was being slowly torn apart as the mages tried to turn the tide with this artifact.

The glimmer of joy died as he watched how neither of them moved, not even when the pain should have been unbearable. Instead, he felt disappointed in them. The Thousand Master truly was worthless; a poseur with undeserved power, and his adoptive daughter was just as weak. He felt robbed of the show they should have given him.

These two was meant to stand at the forefront of the last battle humanity would fight but instead they had crawled deep into their souls and hid there. As Malecoda, his lieutenant and the leader of the attack on Mahora, together with his subordinate Rubicante, landed on the roof and massacred the mages around them in only seconds he turned away. It seemed as if the tale of the Thousand Master and his daughter would end in an anticlimactic and disgraceful manner.

"You disappoint me, Thousand Master." Negi said as he turned away and walked away from the mirror. The time had come for the real ritual to begin. Only two hours now remained of the Age of Humanity.

* * *

Malecoda howled as he descended on the tower where his prey was. He had dispatched his boys all over Mahora to find and kill those mortals who wouldn't' be killed by the normal underlings of the great one. Soaring high above the battlefield his children had picked out the greatest warriors present and dived to challenge them. His youngest, Rubicante, had followed him however.

Until recently the youngest of the Malebranche had been chained as the personal summon of the Turkish mage Fate Averruncus. During that time the demon had first met Asuna Kagurazaka when she had fought him in order to reclaim her kidnapped friend. When Rubicante had charged the girl during the final showdown, however, his blade had been stopped.

The Great One had personally ordered his underlings to lay neither hand nor claw on this girl and Rubicante, like all his kin, was physically unable to disobey those orders. Therefore Rubicante had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of an adolescent girl, this disgrace burned in his mind and his black soul was consumed with thoughts of vengeance. With the girl's purpose fulfilled there was no longer a reason or her to live so Malfeas had allowed Rubicante to slay her.

Father and son both dove towards the tower, breaking the barrier and landing on the platform. The mages scattered in panic as Rubicante howled at the top of his lungs and charged. Swinging his large sword in wide arcs he massacred the men on the tower and the few who had fled to the other end of the platform was petrified by a blast of magic from Malecoda's mouth and fell from the platform, shattering as they reached the ground.

Only four living beings now remained on the tower, two of these were Malecoda and Rubicante, the other two were the catatonic Thousand Master and Asuna. The two demons towered over them as Rubicante reached out for Asuna. Without a word of protest she was lifted off the ground and Rubicante howled with glee as Malecoda advanced on Nagi.

"Greetings master…" The demon grinned sadistically, "What a surprise…!" He punched the man hard enough to make blood run from the limp man's mouth, "…to meet you here!" Nagi was lifted up and thrown into one of the pillars on the end of the platform… Malecoda would take his time in getting his revenge for how the Thousand Master had chained him.

* * *

Motoko dodged under the demon's flaming sword, only just avoiding getting decapitated. Her eyes were wide and her entire body shook from her earlier attempt to parry one of the demon's attacks. She leapt backwards and unleashed another blast of chi from her sword, hitting the demon squarely in the chest but the monster shrugged it off as if it was nothing. The demon's burning head only leered at her as it took flight.

The Shinmei-ryu samurai felt something she hadn't felt in years when she saw the demon hover in the air above her. As the demon spewed out a giant cone of fire against her, singing her clothes despite her attempts to avoid it she realized what it was. Fear; she feared this demon, this… Malebranche.

She had never heard of this group before and as another torrent of flame came at her she desperately wished that she'd have. As it was now she ran through the devastated streets of Mahora, trying to find some opening.

He was stronger than anything she'd seen before, cutting through his surrounding like nothing with his burning sword, and her techniques only scratched him. She stood helpless against the nearly invulnerable demon. As he came crashing down on the rock she'd been standing on she managed to score a perfect hit on his throat but it only scratched him and she leapt into an alleyway, forced to resumed her running.

* * *

Scarmiglione the many-fanged serpent was an opponent Takamchi could only shake in front of. The dexterous demon was faster than anything he'd faced before and his swords dripped with venom that could kill a dragon. Takamichi had to keep his distance and leapt over the roofs as he sent one kanka-enhanced attack after another against the thing, Scarmiglione avoiding every single one of them, hissing with glee.

At Takamichi leapt through the air the demon-snake suddenly disappeared and Takamichi could feel him. He could feel him being right behind him! It was pure luck that he managed to dodge enough that only some strands of hair was cut apart by the demon and he screamed as he launched a powerful attack at the thing.

The attack hit the demon straight in the face and it was sent flying backwards into a building. The stone structure crumbled under the force of the impact and it all crashed down in the thing as Takamichi landed. However any eventual feelings of success was crushed when the demon burst forth from the wreckage again, seemingly not hurt at all, only hissing sadistically.

* * *

The very air between Albiero and Alichino was screaming under the pressure of the magic energies that collided there. Sweat ran down Albiero's face as he let loose a mixture of magic attacks and wards, trying to overcome the demon. However his opponent was the dark firemaster of the Malebranche, Malecoda's lieutenant and advisor. Albiero didn't dare to hope for anything as they both fought their deadly duel, each of them standing on a torn off fragment of what once had been a roof but now were two large rocks hovering in the air.

A swarm of blue firebolts shot out against him and tore through his barriers; he had to pull back his magic to stop them before he was incinerated. The heat nearly made him back off but he held his ground. He had been foolish enough to face Alichino in this type of contest, a duel of magic skill and power much like a game of chess, only that here his life was forfeit of he lost.

And he was rapidly heading towards a loss. Alichino had unreal amounts of power at his disposal, coupled with centuries of cunning and knowledge, which made him an implacable foe. Albiero's wards flared up again, trying to recover the distance he'd lost when having to pull back and to his dismay he realized that he'd lost almost five meters of ground to the demon, he was slowly heading for death.

* * *

Deep in the Thousand Master's sub-consciousness the man suddenly opened his eyes and looked around. He was standing in an infinite grey emptiness, featureless and desolate. Nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard, he was alone, alone with his emptiness and self-hatred.

However he suddenly heard something cut through the stillness of this infinite expanse. A voice - sounding like it was singing - that carried across the emptiness. Nagi's feet started to move on their own; for some reason he felt with his entire being, that he had to reach that voice. Something told him that he had to run, faster and faster, until he reached the voice. So he ran. Moving as if stuck in clay he slowly accelerated to a full sprint.

The voice slowly became stronger and stronger, after a while he heard that it wasn't singing, it seemed like chanting. The voice, a child's he heard after a time, was chanting something over and over again. After a while he could see blurry shapes in the distance, a small figure was moving back and forth, seemingly waving something around. When he could make out the figures clearly, however, he froze in his steps.

What he saw was a sight he was intimately familiar with, it was his brother's guest house in Wales. The place hadn't changed at all from how he vaguely remembered it. However in the middle of this room was someone who made his heart stop what he saw who it was. Standing on the floor, waving a practice wand around, was a five-year-old child that he couldn't help but identify thanks to his red hair and brown eyes.

"Negi..." he whispered, It was Negi; his child... how was that...? Nagi sunk down to his knees, tears streaming down his face when he saw the little boy, who was continuously making the same motions, chanting "Practi-Biginaru Ardescat." over and over again.

Nagi fell down on all fours and cried, was that how his son had lived? Trying to become a mage that early? Suddenly the pain of loss blazed in him again, he should have been there... he should have been there telling Negi how to do it! The little boy suddenly squealed and Nagi looked up only to see a tiny spark burst forth from the wand.

"I did it..." The boy said, his small voice quivering with excitement. "I did it! Nekane! I did it!" Nagi suddenly saw a blonde girl enter, he immediately recognized Nekane, his niece, and saw how must she had grown since the last time he had seen her, she was a young woman now. Negi leapt into her arms. "I did it Nekane!" The boy squealed again and Nekane hugged him with a smile on her lips.

Nagi couldn't help but feel slightly relieved at seeing that his boy had lived with people who cared for him but the pain still burned in him. He imagined himself being there in his niece's place, where he was supposed to have been. He wondered how that would have been; to be a father, but time and fate had deemed him too stupid to take up the life so easily given to him that time.

"Does this mean I can become a great mage like dad now?" Negi suddenly asked, making Nagi's heart freeze yet again. A great mage... like him? It was then that Nagi noticed the many drawings on the walls of the room. Drawn with crayons by a child's hands, all of them depicted a stick figure in robes with a large staff and who stood surrounded by dead monsters. All of them held the same title, drawn with crude letters near the upper rim of the picture, "thousand master". His little son stood in a sea of pictures, all of them depicting his father as a hero.

Nagi felt sick at the sight... at the very same time that he had been running around, trying to forget his son, the little boy in front of him had eagerly trained, hoping to become like him... or rather, the hero everyone thought he was. Nagi picked one up and noticed his dear niece had tried to tear off the violent parts.

_"Is what he thinks is me?"_ Nagi scrunched it into his fist. _"This isnt me at all!"_ He started to cry to himself again, the self-hatred swallowing him whole. But fate was becoming even crueler than usual…

"I don't know..." Nekane suddenly said, her kind voice snapping Nagi out of his depression. "Ask the man there..." She pointed at Nagi and Negi clambered out of his cousin's arms and ran up to him. He was so small… so tiny… was this his son? His flesh and blood?

"Can I mister?!" Negi asked with a face glowing with eagerness, "Can I become as good as my father?" The boy's face was filled with so much… eagerness… exhilaration… hope… happiness… This boy, a kid meant to play outside with his friends, was training so hard… hoping to emulate who he thought was a hero… who in fact was a worthless betrayer of his family… Nagi hated himself… he hated himself! He spoke up, with a voice hoarse and subdued.

"I'm sorry…" He grabbed hold of the boy in front of him and violently embraced him, "I'm so sorry Negi!" he cried, the little boy was silent as he did so but suddenly Negi spoke up.

"I bet you are…" The voice had suddenly become cold, unforgiving, "And that's why I won…" Suddenly a thick black lance manifested and shot out of the little boy's chest, Nagi was impaled by it and thrown backwards only to see that the little boy had transformed into the grey-cloaked man that he had met in the underground chamber.

He landed with a thud and coughed up blood as he felt how his lungs collapsed, having been torn apart. Moving instinctively, he tried to get up despite the hole in his chest. He coughed up what he felt was his life's blood, again fate denied him the easy exit as it had done so many times before.

"In the end there was one big flaw in you." Negi said, "You never were anything other than a glory-hound." The boy towered over his father, watching the bleeding man with cold eyes, "Your power became your undoing." He said unemotionally, "Without the humility adversities give you, how could you ever become anything more than an overpowerered fool? And now, the world will bleed because of you, Wales will burn, the Crimson Wing will be hunted down and butchered one by one… and your precious Asuna… I'll tell you what I plan for her…" Negi leaned down and whispered something in Nagi's ear. Nagi's eyes suddenly widened in horror.

"No!" He croaked, not that… not Asuna… anything but that!

"Yes…" Negi said, "There is no other fate left for her… She'll become my dog… I'll even give her a collar. I'll introduce her to every pit the abyss holds, break her just as I have broken others, defile her soul... in the end nothing but a twisted shadow of her will remain, one bound to my will…"

"Noo!" Nagi somehow got strength enough launch himself upwards and push Negi onto his back, his hands clenched around his son's throat as his very being screamed for him to do it. He couldn't take anymore… his son was telling him that he planned to defile the girl who, in a better life, would have been his sister! However Negi's eyes were just as terrible as before, only they had begun to glow with malice and amusement.

"You really think that you can destroy something you helped create from your own flesh and blood?" Negi seemed to gloat at his anger, his fury, his smile was a sickening thing of demonic glee, unnatural and filthy "You don't have it in you, you're nothing but a fool… or are you? Thousand Master?"

The title he was so proud of was spoken like an insult, a vile epithet reserved for the lowest of scum, and spoken with Negi's full conviction, so unlike the worshipful sparkle in the little boy's eyes. The eyes didn't even hate him; they only looked down at him, like he was a pathetic waste of flesh meant to die.

"Negi…" Nagi croaked; the voice sounding like it was his throat to be held by strong hands, "Why… why did you do it!" He slammed the boy's head into the ground "What did he offer you! What about everyone back home? What about Nekane!? Why did you throw away everything just to get your vengeance on me?! Tell me, damn it! Why?!" He screamed as the top of his lungs now, the voice breaking as he tried to understand why everything had gone like this. But all he got from Negi was a wicked smirk.

"Does it matter?" His voice bubbled with dark mirth, "Does it really mean so much to you to find out the reason I'm going to destroy everything? Do you think those names mean anything to me? They're humans, and like all humans they will all be forgotten soon." Suddenly his eyes darkened and the mirth disappeared, being replaced with ice. "But if you want a reason let me give you one…" His face came closer to his father's, whispering the last words, "Why not? I do what my heart tells me, and it says, "Destroy, kill, savage, let the world burn at your touch." Is that better? I do it simple because I see no reason to not do it."

This wasn't his son Nagi suddenly realized. This wasn't him… it was the darkness of Malfeas… it was the same thing as that which had made Asuna suffer simply since it saw no reason to not do it.

"You… are not…my… son!" Nagi's arms got new strength and sunk deep into Negi's' throat, squeezing it apart. Negi's body suddenly evaporated in a thick cloud of oily smoke that fled upwards. Nagi looked after it and suddenly he roared as he forced himself to wake up.

* * *

Malfeas was dangling Nagi's limp body over the side of the roof when the Thousand Master's eyes suddenly opened and Malfeas felt a surge of immense energy. Suddenly the lifeless man in his hand was radiating power, almost like the sun itself. Before he could react two words came off Nagi's lips.

"Thousand Thunderbolts."

The explosion ripped away the roof covering the platform, drenching it in thunder and destruction as Nagi's full fury ripped apart the demons on it. They were annihilated in a second, the ancient Malebranche not even having the time to scream before being consumed by the magic lightning.

However Nagi didn't even feel the drain of the spell, the magic just kept gushing out of him. His eyes widened as he realized that somehow he had become overcharged with magic. The brilliant light only grew stronger and stronger, threatening to consume him, his skin burned, his head started to buzz, it felt like he was about to explode.

The Thousand Master went on instinct and dashed into the sky, glowing with magic. All around the campus people, both demons and mortals, turned to look at the glowing sun of magic that rose above them. Nagi rose, higher and higher, and reached the apex of his ascent above the word tree. His hands rose and begun to slowly move. His voice begun to sound, slowly at first but faster and faster and louder and louder as he recited the one spell he remembered as never having used before, one of the spells that were beyond all other magic.

"Manman teroterro!" he shouted, "Forgotten spirits of rain and thunder, forgotten deities of the sky. Hear my prayer and see thy servant in his hour of need. Spill forth, dance across creation in a beautiful display of nature's fury, Let thy last moments of life be joyful before the world itself forget you, leave a memory for all time to those who bore witness! Requiem of the fallen gods!"

A gigantic ray of yellow light shot up from the world tree, through Nagi and up to heaven. The sky above Mahora, which already was torn and ravaged by the infernal storm, suddenly exploded with light. Gigantic thunderbolts, thousands of them, struck the ground. A rain of heavenly fire arced down for the clouds and devastated the area.

But still, not one single of these mighty blasts slew or even harmed the mortals, every single of them stuck, with unerring precision, the demonic invaders of Mahora. The crash of thunder became a constant roar that annihilated Negi's infernal army.

* * *

Suddenly a powerful thunderbolt hit her opponent with enough force to make even this behemoth spasm uncontrollable and Motoko, who had been steadily pushed backwards, saw the opening in a second. With a wild battle-cry she leapt inside his guard and gave all she had in one final attempt to win this battle.

"Shin Raikouken!" The demon was torn apart as the thunder exploded all around him, not even the Malebranche being able to shrug off the most powerful of her techniques.

* * *

Even the lightning-fast Scarmiglione came to a screeching halt as it was hit by a surge of lightning from the roaring sky, the demon crashing into the ground and tumbling around. Takamichi, who had been one split-second away from being hit by the demon, took his chance and unleashed a barrage of powerful kanka-blasts, strike after strike smashing into the demon as Takamichi abandoned all defense and went all out, punching like a madman. Scarmiglione was torn to pieces by the repeated attacks, not even his soul surviving the merciless barrage.

* * *

In only one instant the battle swung in Albiero's favor, the desperate gamble he had played with Nagi's limp body paying out. The Thousand Master had been shaken awake by the powerful magic that had been forced into him and now he rained death down on the demons. Alichino lost all control over the duel as he had to force everything he had into the magic barriers. Gritting his teeth Albiero invoked the most destructive spell he knew and a black hole appeared for just one second in Alichino's position, tearing the demon to minute pieces.

* * *

After five seconds the army was reduced to half it's size, after twenty only the gigantic demons that were too large to be slain by a single blast were left, after a minute they were dead too. The sky fell quiet for a single second before five titanic blasts smashed, dead on, straight into the portals, and ripped apart the demonic magic that kept them open. The echo of the impact could be heard across Mahora, slowly fading before silence once again blanketed the streets. The surviving defenders looked up at the sky and saw Nagi, still glowing brightly like a star, slowly sink towards the ground.

He did it... the Thousand Master... it really was him... he had returned... the whispers rose from the magi, who still were in awe of what they had seen. The sight of him descending from the sky, after having single-handedly annihilated the entire army, was enough to awake feelings of awe, even worship, in their hearts.

The veterans of the great war remembered how he had appeared in the sky during the great battles of that conflict and single-handedly turned the tide of battle, the younger remembered how they had heard stories of this man, those who had once stood on the other side felt the fear they once had felt during that time return. Feared, loved, respected, worshipped, the Thousand Master had come.

* * *

Nagi was still in a daze when he landed, numb from the power he had released. He vaguely noticed that someone caught him and looked up to see a grizzled face, one with salt-and pepper beard and a cigarette hanging from the mouth.

"G-gateau?" he whispered. How was that possible? Gateau was dead... he had seen how the man had bled to death from a horrid would caused by a giant demon.

"No." the man said, "It's me, Takamichi." Nagi was amazed, was this little Takamichi? Gateau's fanboy? The resemblance to Gateau was uncanny, right down to how he smoked. He couldn't help but chuckle tiredly.

"Y-you really got to be related after all..." He said as Takamichi helped him walk towards a bench, "You look like his twin."

"He does, doesn't he?" a smooth voice he remembered clearly said, looking to the side as he sat down he saw the effeminate face of Albiero Imma. "I've pushed for him to get his own style for years but ingratitude is all you get for it." Albiero smiled impishly as he came forth. "It's good to see you again Nagi."

"Al..." Nagi looked up, his friend smiled as usual. "Did you know...?" He asked, there was no need to clarify what he meant, Albiero understood and his smile died.

"No..." He said quietly, "Nobody could have known. I myself only saw it two days ago, and then it was too late."

"Your son is a man of many depths," A voice said and they looked to see Eishun, the aged man holding a sword and wearing a grim look on his face, not one of relief. Behind him a young girl, Setsuna, Nagi would be told later on, stood. "Some of them darker than others."

"Now is not the time for..." Takamichi tried to stop him but Eishun ignored him. He was too distraught to pay any consideration to the man's feelings.

"He kidnapped Konoka." He told Nagi, "He took my daughter." Nagi didn't even blink as he met the man's gaze. Eishun seemed cold but the man was on the verge of breaking down, the fear of what his daughter's fate had been almost too much for him to bear.

"Then we'll take her back, and kick his ass at the same time." Both Takamichi and Albiero looked at him at this, what was he saying? Even if they knew it had to be done... it was his son! Nagi looked down at the ground.

"He's my son," He told them "it's my job to take responsibility for what he does. I can't let my regret over not being there for him let him destroy everything. I should have been there, I should have been his father, but now its' too late. All I can do is to deal with the mess I created."

Albiero looked at the man, surprise clear on his face, before he smiled slightly. Nagi had finally matured it seemed. The immaturity and fear of responsibility that he had seen during the great war was gone.

_"It seems that you can yet become a real giant amongst men, Nagi-kun." _He thought.

"Then you better move it." Chao's voice suddenly came from behind; the young girl pushed her way out between Albiero and Eishun. Her eyes were wide and she looked around "He's not here; we didn't see anything of him. This all is just a diversion!" When the men looked at her she spoke up again, "Can't you feel it!?"

The men looked around; confused about what she meant, and suddenly Albiero felt something too. From the ground under their feet an ominous feeling rose, Albiero, who always had been sensitive of magic, put a hand over his mouth, trying not to puke. A disgusting, putrid feeling of rot and decay rose from the ground, like the fumes of the underworld it rose and made them all nauseous.

"Kami-sama." Eishun said, the swordsman feeling it too, "What is this?!"

"Tainted magic..." Chao said, "I know it, it covered everything when I left."

"He must be in the catacombs." Takamichi realized with wide eyes. "We'll never be able to find him there. That complex reaches for miles, there's no way we'll be able to search all of it."

"You don't need to." They heard a voice say, looking up they saw Asuna, she was standing by the corner of the building looking down on the ground, she then looked up and the look in her eyes made the men freeze, it was glowing with anger.

"Asuna-kun..." Takamichi hurried up to her, he reached for the girl and took her in his arms, "Are you all right?!" He said but the girl just slunk out of his embrace and walked up to Nagi, she looked into his eyes, the man not managing to look away from her, and clenched her fists.

"Adeat!" The giant blade suddenly appeared in her hand and she swung it at him, stopping it right in front of his neck. Nagi didn't even flinch. Asuna's blade now rested only an inch from his jugular "I woke up…" Asuna said with a shivering voice, "he showed me… I remember everything." She said, her eyes wild, "You traded him for me... why... why!?" she screamed the last word.

"Because I couldn't stand being forced to things," Nagi admitted his mistake bluntly, "back then I would rather choose to take an orphan as child instead of the boy I fathered without meaning to."

"Is that it?" Asuna asked, "Is that the reason why he suffered like that!?" She screamed. Nagi only nodded, this mess originated from his foolishness, he saw that now. "Do you know what the did to him?! How much he suffered because of you!?"

"I can guess..." Nagi said.

"You can, huh? And now you're gonna kill him and claim the merit for killing another dark mage?!" At this Nagi's hand rose and caught her blade.

"No..." He said, shaking his head, "I'm going... to kill my son... I'm going to find the boy I betrayed and murder him, because I can't let him destroy the world."

Asuna's hands shook, her emotions, rage, sorrow, confusion, it was all written across her face. Then the suddenly tore away the blade and spun around. "I can feel him. He's in the lowest chambers," her voice was a low whisper; "They are with him."

"Who?" Albiero asked.

"Rage, Chaos, Despair, Madness, Emptiness." Asuna said cryptically, her eyes hidden by her bangs. Nagi got up and put a hand on her shoulder but she tore away. "Don't touch me..." She snapped, "I'm going with you, but that's because I am the one who stole his life… it's because of me you never were there for him. It's my fault too... I said I wanted to help him… tried to give him strength to go on… when I was the reason he even had to fight to begin with..

"Asuna..." Nagi went to comfort her. Instead of accepting it the red haired girl lashed out.

"Im the wrong person!" She snapped, despite not saying anything more everyone understood what she meant. "And you're ten years too late you… you..." She struggled to find the appropriate insult for the man behind her. Instead; she cried, paths of silent tears begun to run down her face as she clenched her fists. Suddenly she started to walk, unsummoning her giant blade as she started to run towards the nearestsewer entrance, the others following her.


	41. At the end of all things

**Chapter 40: At the end of all things  
**

* * *

Deep in the bowels of the earth, hell had come, the massive chamber underneath Mahora had once been a lush underground paradise filled with life, magically made into a paradise. 

But now it had become a nightmare. 

The once green grass now had rotted away and made way for black sand. The once clear water had become tar-like and filthy, a viscous substance where nothing could live. The enormous trees had been twisted and infested by the darkness and now utterly dead, it's branches barren and thorny. 

In the middle of this terrible wasteland a huge circle of magic had been drawn on the ground in blood, crooked and skeletal pillars surrounded it, looking more like fingers from how they narrowed and curved inwards. They came together under a giant sphere of swirling energies, tainted magic that looked like pitch, bubbling and seething. . 

Inside of this vile construction a figure in black robes stood, hands held high and a clear voice rising and falling as it wove a terrible spell to doom the world. 

Outside this circle a mutilated figure was slowly making its way towards the figure that stood outside the circle, seemingly watching the one inside.

"M-Master..." Malecoda was gravely wounded, he had escaped only just in time to avoid being utterly incinerated but he was still hit by several blasts. One arm was torn off and the left half of his body had seen its skin reduced to coal, pain blazed in his one remaining eye as he crawled along the floor towards Negi. "Th-the Thousand Master awoke... He stopped us... he destroyed us all! He killed my boys!"

"Clumsy, Malecoda, very clumsy." Negi said unemotinally as he walked up to him, "I assume you accidentally shook life in him while tossing him around, instead of finishing him off right away as I told you to?" Malecoda flinched, realizing that it was not really a question.

"P...please." The maimed demon said, "H-help me... let me avenge my boys..." The proud Malecoda had been reduced to begging, he was utterly powerless, the wounds draining him.

"You'd only be of use if we could heal you up," Negi said, "And the only one capable is, as you can see, busy." He indicated the figure inside the ring. "You are therefore useless. All I can use you for is firewood." 

Reaching out towards the demon in front of him he clenched his fist in his direction. The man screamed and as Negi lifted his arm he rose into the air, wildly flailing.With a swing Negi sent Malecoda in a wide arc and when he opened his hand the demon flew straight into the orb. 

He was instantly devoured by it and became one with the filth as it liquidated him. The millennia old demon lord, who had stood at Malfeas' side, who had been documented even in the lore of the mundanes, died, was annihilated, as his essence was added to that of the massive sphere of twisted magic.

Negi didn't even spare the man a single look; Malecoda had brought this fate upon himself. Indeed, even if he would have been capable of pitying the man, he wouldn't. Malecoda, or Wilhelm as he had called himself as that time, had not just handed over his father's journal that time in Berlin as he had told Nekane and Stan that time. He had deceived Negi and lured him deep into hell itself. 

There, Negi had been captured by Malfeas and trapped in the demon god's citadel. For months, the demon's servants had magically tortured him and infected him with the taint against his will; the nightmares of what he had experienced there had hounded him for a long time. He had managed to flee, however, and had contributed this to his skill and luck, but now he realized that he had been allowed to flee. 

Malfeas had planned it all, his finding of Asuna, his discovery of the secrets behind breaking magical vows, his desperation to keep going; everything had proceeded according to his plans. He watched the figure inside the ring, which currently was holding its arms high and completed the final stages of the ritual. 

Instead of personally doing the ritual he had chosen to let one of his new servants do it. The skill necessary had been easy to implant in her mind, he controlled her very being after all, and the ritual wasn't as hard as it was draining. A young mage with only just enough skill and more than enough raw power was perfect to use as a proxy. 

However there was still the fact that the Thousand Master had awoken left to deal with. Negi didn't see any reason to take the risk that he might stop them lightly so he walked down to the tainted goo that now was in place of the once clear water. 

Deciding to be on the safe side he took out a black-bladed knife and, without any hesitation, stabbed himself through the hand with it. Liquid ran down from the wound and into the water, spreading across the surface. The goo suddenly started to bubble and seethe as his dark will spread in it and soon four pillars started to rise out of the water, slowly reshaping themselves after his will and soon floating in the air. 

Within a minute four people were standing in front of him, all of them people he had handpicked to become his servants in the new age that was about to come. 

The first he had created out of the half-breed he once had called friend, shattering his old comrade's hopes of finding love by drugging both him and the girl he had his eye on with a type of love brew Negi had forced their relationship to proceed too fast for the girl to take it and she had left him, hurting him deeply in the process. Negi had approached his old friend and twisted his sorrow to fury, to rage. This had gone so well that now the half-breed was the very incarnation of wrath. Once human-looking, he was now a hulking brute with black fur covering the skin and red eyes in a face that held a giant, oversized mouth filled with fangs and with long arms bearing claws that could tear through anything. 

He called it Rage: his personal killing machine.

The second he had created out of the construction of flesh and bones that was so similar to a normal human. Created by a tainted mage and been ever aware of how alien it truly was to humanity, the doll had nonetheless hoped, fought even, for the luxury of being seen as a human. In the end it had managed to fool both itself and others that it was human but Negi had cornered it and driven the doll to desperate rage as he slowly and deliberately pressed it's inhumanity down it throat. In the end it's mind had broken and Negi had, in an ironic gesture, remade it so that it now looked, even acted, even more human than before, by remaking it into a kind and gentle personality, one with fair looks and gentle behavior, who nonetheless didn't hesitate to do anything, he had completed the circle of the doll's delusions. 

It was now Madness, his seneschal and assistant. 

The third was a bonus, when cornering the doll it had been supported by a young girl, a foolish and naïve being Negi had half expected to die long before then. However she had stood by the doll's side and Negi had decided to claim her too, her skill with swords wasn't anything to scoff at. Capturing her and ripping apart her very soul she had become nothing but a pale shadow of herself, one bound to him.He had recreated her very body too, making her a wraith that had to live inside other's shadows to survive.

She was empty, both on the inside and the outside, and therefore he had named her Emptiness, she would now rest in his shadow, eternally serving as his bodyguard.

The fourth was the ancient vampire that first had been his enemy, then tentative ally and in the end, confidante. Unlike the other he had held no illusions about manipulating her, she was too experienced, too canny, to be fooled. Instead, he had faced her dead on and defeated her in a battle of raw might. Even when he had devoured her the battle had only begun. He had slowly and steadily broken her inside his soul with sheer force, sipping away her strength and making her a cowering slave in front of him. 

Her body he had transformed, making it into ice and snow, cold like the fear and despair she had felt as he crushed her. That was also her name now, Despair, the high priestess of his cult to Malfeas.

The fifth of his servants was standing behind him, chanting steadily and weaving the titanic spell that would end the world as humanity knew it. He had originally captured her only for this purpose; he had planned to do away with her after that. But her power was truly immense and also; deep, deep within her mind he had found instincts that he had found were easily twisted to a delightful mix of purity and perversion. She, who was so pure and so gentle, was now perhaps the most twisted of his servants. 

She was like chaos, she was Chaos; purity intermingled with perversion, utterly incomprehensible. And now, she was his fleshcrafter and spawnmistress. 

These five people, once normal beings of this world, people with dreams, ambitions, with all that which made the denizens of this plane so amazingly complex, were now his. He had claimed them in mind, soul and body and remade them as he saw fit. Now they belonged to him, they were his, his slaves, his "Bondsmen of the Black Seal". Negi had always believed in quality over quantity. The millions of demons above were nothing but cannon fodder, even the, now annihilated, Malebranche. 

But these were his creations, handpicked and perfectly modeled after his desires, and they had been branded upon their foreheads with his personal seal so all creation would know of this. They were his. 

"Awaken." He said softly and four pair of eyes snapped open. The Bondsmen awoke and dropped down on the water's surface. Rage immediately hunched and started to pant deeply, drool dripping down the giant jaws of the beast. The others were still though, only Despair's long hair moved as if whipped by furious storms. The Bondsmen's full attention was on him now.

"They are coming," Negi said silently, "Prepare to defend the circle; do not let them disrupt it." In a blur his servants spread out in the chamber. Rage leapt high up in the dead trees and hid there, Despair dove into the water, hiding in the muck, Madness created a vortex of quicksand under him and sunk into the ground, hiding there, and Emptiness dove into Negi's shadow, becoming one with it. In one second they were all gone and Negi stood yet again alone.

Closing his eyes he went over what he was about to do again. This spell, a mighty magic ritual that only had been used a few times before, and never for this purpose, was almost complete. The giant sphere of magic that now hovered above the circle would be used to cut open a hole in the world, a gate to the Aether, the metaphysical plane where thoughts and ideas lived. In this plane the "oaths" could also be found. 

Oaths sworn with magic was known to have consequences if you broke them, no magic could dispel them and no one could escape them, if you had sworn on something you would do it or suffer the consequences. Indeed, oath was an insufficient word for this phenomenon, this being, for as Merlin had discovered these things were living beings. A better word for these curious beings, which lived only to enforce a certain pact or rule would be "chain"

One of these "oaths" was that one that bound Malfeas to the ninth hell. The great incarnate, the gods and the demon kings, were all bound to never leave their home plane by these oaths, the "chains" of the oath they had been born to coiled around their souls like snakes and prevented them from even attempting to leave their home.

However: if a hole could be cut into the Aether, something unheard of, and a powerful magic attack aimed at the right place in this plane, the "chain" would be slain, thereby rendering the oath ineffective, this would make Malfeas free to travel wherever he pleased.

The chanting suddenly ceased behind Negi and he looked back at Chaos, who now stood with her arms down and her head bent. The magic still hovered above her though, kept in place by the power wards on the circle. 

"Chaos." He said and the girl looked up at him, her face eager like a child and seemingly filled with innocence. Negi motioned for the girl to approach and with small skipping steps she came up to him and hugged him, her purity in no way diminished even after he had twisted it.

"Are we done soon master?" She asked him, sounding like a girl waiting for Christmas, "I wanna start now."

"Patience Chaos." Negi said, told her, like the rest of the Bondsmen he had allowed her some modicum of independence. This was not due to pity or regrets however, nothing like that, in her case it was since he had seen depths in her, depths of depravity he, a cold and controlled being, could never hope to reach. "In due time you will be given the broods you desire," he continued, "but for now, be patient."

Her passions gave her ability to reach so far into darkness that not even he could be certain of what would be found. She was perfect, even more so than any other of the Bondsmen, for the role he had chosen her for. And that role was to be the mother of all the twisted monstrosities that he would create for Malfeas' armies. 

"Oooohh…." Chaos giggled as she looked out across the ruined chamber, "It's so exciting! I'm gonna create lots of babies, millions. And they will live everywhere, they will fly, they will swim, burrow, walk, my babies will be everywhere!" 

Suddenly she looked up at him, wide and innocent eyes staring at him. "Can't I get to make at least some babies?" She asked him, sounding like a kid begging for candy, "just a few of them? They can help the others…"

Negi smirked, she was really perfect, she was perhaps his finest job ever. He decided to oblige her and suddenly he grabbed her clothes and raised his other arm. Chaos eyes suddenly widened in surprise and, as Negi's hand, pulsing with sickening energies, slammed his arm into her belly, the arm piercing into her. Chaos squealed as he pressed his arm into her, twisting it around.

"Master…" Chaos moaned, the tainted girl starting to moan and trash in his grip, fiercely clutching onto him as he impregnated her with his dark will. "Master!" She cried out. Her moans echoing through the chamber as something could be seen moving inside Negi's arm, something black was swimming down it and suddenly it shot into Chaos, the girl crying out in bliss as her master gave her that which she desired more than anything else. 

Then Negi let go of her and she fell to the ground, she was still shivering in delight as she limply hit the ground and looked at him with eyes glazed over in ecstasy. In her stomach something had already begun to stir, growing rapidly, the first of the new lords of the earth was about to be born. 

Chaos' breathing became faster and more labored as her belly expanded and then, in a violent explosion of gore, her giant belly exploded and a swarm of maggoty monsters squirmed out of her open gut. Negi looked at the grotesque scene with a dispassionate expression

"Feed them." He said, "Have them fully grown within five minutes." Then he turned around and walked off towards the circle again, leaving Chaos to use all her dark power to accelerate her offspring's growth as far as she could. When he reached the circle he walked into the middle of it and looked up at the sphere of magic that hovered above. 

For a few seconds Negi stood silently and looked at the immense amount of magic that soon would be sent into the Aether. In only a few moments it would all be over, the gate would be opened and the titanic magic bolt unleashed. Now he truly stood on the great gorge of mankind's death. Negi raised his hands to the hood, which had been thrown back, and closed his eyes. Pulling it over his face he smiled, a happy smile, a content smile.

"I am death, destroyer of worlds: I am Thanatos." With those words he claimed the darkest legacy ever, the one of Thanata, the bane of Atlantis. Now he was her kin. And he was content; on the verge of damning an entire plane of existence to darkness he was finally fulfilled. He raised one hand towards the magic above him.

"_**Tear!"**_ his voice was too powerful, too terrible to be anything other than that of a monstrous nightmare. His command was loaded with immense, vibrating power which made the very reality inside the magic sphere split, revealing the Aether plane. No magic words, no long chants, only a single command that tore apart creation. He looked up at the hole in reality, shining clearly even through the murky magic. His second command was even more powerful. 

"_**Kill!"**_ Now the orb of magic flared up and, with a loud roar, begun to shrink as the magic, like an intangible serpent, flew into the Aether plane, stalking its prey. The countdown had begun. Within mere moments it would have found its' prey. 

Then, suddenly, he sensed movement outside the chamber. Something was approaching, something powerful. 

"Chaos, hide." He said unemotionally as he vanished in a blur of motion. Chaos looked up from the monsters she just had spawned, a swarm of, now several dozen feet long, snake-like beings, and with a wave of her hand ordered her babies to burrow into the earth and hide without a trace, their mother following them right after.

* * *

"There!" Chao pointed at the gate far down the hallway. The members of the Crimson Wing and the few others who had managed to pull through the battle relatively unharmed all dashed through the hallways with their full attention of the door. At the forefront was Katsu, the aged samurai drenched in demon blood, most of it from the Malebranche that had attacked him. 

"No time to waste!" He roared, "all out from the start!" Even the normally focused and controlled samurai had felt the twin tremors only seconds earlier and had abandoned all caution, knowing that they might already be too late. He leapt towards the door and unsheathed his twin swords. 

"Twin-dragon-slash!" His two swords cut cleanly into the thick metal and the doors, now cut into four pieces was thrown into the large chamber and they all entered, eyes widening at the twisted landscape beyond. They had entered what could only be described as hell. A twisted, nightmarish landscape that was enough to make them shiver in fear. 

"My god…" Nagi whispered at the sight. Suddenly he noticed something above him, looking upwards he saw Negi. His son… no, the being that had once been his son, was standing on a branch above them, looking down at them with his cold gaze. 

"You have my acknowledgement." Negi told him with that unnaturally smooth and clear voice. "To have reached this chamber this fast could not have been easy. And yet you aren't exhausted."

"Zip it." The Thousand Master said. "It's already over for you. Your army is gone and you're cornered!" Nagi snapped, gritting his teeth together. 

"Wrong, Thousand Master." Negi said softly, "I've already won. Take a look around yourself, you are the ones cornered." At his final words the ground all around the group exploded and a cascade of earth was thrown up into the air, revealing the attackers. 

One second later a swarm of huge, worm-like beings with oversized mouths filled with teeth were all around them. And around Negi, almost like they were protecting him, were five persons that the Thousand Master and his companions recognized. 

"Behold those who will inherit this world," Negi said as the Crimson wing stared. 

"Konoka…" Eishun whispered in despair as he saw his daughter, her gut still torn open and madness glowing in her eyes. His daughter! She was torn open with her guts hanging down her front and she didn't even care. What had he done to her!

"_Kotaro!"_Setsuna couldn't find her voice; it couldn't be… it was impossible!

"Evangeline?" Nagi said, recognizing the woman that now was made out of ice. 

"Not any more." Negi said, "These are the Bondsmen of the Black Seal, the new lords of the earth, servants of me, Thanatos. Kill them!"

The five bondsmen moved like lightning, attacking without fear, without hesitation, without anything other than murderous intent.

* * *

Setsuna fled backwards, extending her wings and desperately trying to get away from the monster that hounded her. Her eyes were filled with tears and she sobbed, not wanting to believe it. 

"Stop running!" the monster that once had been Kotaro roared, "Fight me you mortal whore!" He roared as he lunged after her, nearly catching her before Chao hit him with a blast of fire, sending him backwards.

"Snap out of it Setsuna!" Chao roared but since she had turned her head to look towards her she didn't notice the monster before it was too late, he recovered in only a second before he dashed inside Chao's guard and sent her flying. 

"I'll kill you," that which once had been Kotaro growled, "I'll kill you, defile you, eat your weak flesh!" The growling only rose in intensity as Setsuna's back suddenly hit the wall and Kotaro's face split in a murderous grin. "Cornered, little chicken." He sneered, revealing his teeth. "Now fight me!" He roared.

As he charged a part of Setsuna's life flashed by in front of her eyes. One that she had entered without intending it, one that she first had feared and then desperately longed for, one that she now had to let go of. Her life with Kotaro, she saw it all in front of her, how she had missed a chance she'd never get again. 

How they had first met.

How he had joined with them at Negi's request, shortly afterwards dragging her secret out into the light. 

How he had finally snapped and torn away her illusions of justified self-hatred. 

How he had, in that one night, given her everything and made her complete.

How his eyes had gone so cold when she had thrown it back into his face.

All she could do now, she realized, was to let the wonderful man she had come to love rest in peace. She had done this to him, it was her fault, but she couldn't run, no more running!

"I love you." She whispered as she finally met his attack with a scream of sorrow.

* * *

Ice shot out of the ground all around them and Albiero had to push it all away with everything he had so they wouldn't get skewered by the jagged shards that shot out everwhere. Above them Evangeline was hovering, her face like carved into stone, her body carved in ice, raining down attacks on them. Like an avalanche a continuous flood of ice crashed down against them all. 

It was only after several waves that Albiero even saw an opening. He teleported into the sky and unleashed a series of gravitational blasts that ripped apart everything in their path. Walls of ice formed in the attacks' path and they were deflected by the wall of frozen water.

"I'm impressed Kitty!" Albiero yelled, using her nickname in an attempt to rile her "What is such a pretty little girl doing working for these people?"

"My master's commands," Evangline said unemotionally, "Are absolute!" Her voice suddenly rose as she sent a swarm of icy spears towards the man who had to strengthen his barriers to deflect them. 

My master… Albiero was saddened beyond words as the fiery girl, whom he cared so deeply for, showed that she now was an utterly subservient tool of Negi. Unleashing another barrage at her he wondered where everything had gone so wrong, where this tragedy had been sparked.

* * *

Katsu parried the twin kodachi of the shadowy wraith, trying to keep up with its speed. The shadow was everywhere at once, darting back and forth like lightning. Unlike during the battle against the Malebranche he was the one who was the slow one here. And to make it even harder he knew who he was facing. 

The wraith had to be the remains of the girl who had worn the name of the moon goddess, Tsukuyomi. The girl who had blatantly disregarded the old practices of the Shinmei-ryu and been exiled, just like Setsuna had been, when she created her own style. Katsu had been enraged that time, he had protested vehemently against the exile of someone who was that good. He had kept an eye out after the girl, hoping that he could find her and offer her to come back. 

But now it was too late. That which had once been Tsukuyomi spun around him, weaving intricate patterns in the air and creating a storm of shadowy blades around him, he had to leap back. It was Tsukuyomi's beautiful style, no doubt about it, but this was like she had done everything possible to incorporate soulless cruelty in the style. 

Everything was gone; Tsukuyomi had been defiled and twisted into a mindless tool of Negi's dark will. The little girl he had admired due to her ingenuity was damned by his student. 

"_Damn you,"_ Katsu thought _"you stupid brat!"_

* * *

All through the chamber the defenders of the earth, tired and worn from the previous battle, now faced an enemy unlike anything ever seen before. 

Mortals: enslaved and driven by the taint but still aware, still more than ravening madmen. They were easily on their level in skill and utterly lacking anything not dark and twisted beyond anything.

Monsters: neither demons, nor natural in any way born out of pure evil, pure destruction and malice. Spawned from the nightmares of man and given shape by the fallen son of humanity's greatest hero. 

Above all this though, near the roof of the chamber, the Thousand Master and Negi, the bringer of death, clashed in yet another display of unequaled power. Nagi didn't hesitate now, he didn't hold back nor did he flinch as he fought his fallen child with all he had.

The air between them exploded as they threw everything they had at each other, Negi skidded backwards, standing on the roof upside down, seemingly not hampered the least of this as he moved in a blur, avoiding attack after attack and he went on the defensive, avoiding Nagi's devastating attacks with his monstrous grace. 

Negi's eyes suddenly blazed and his arms rose, unleashing a swarm of red thunder-arrows against Nagi, who met them with his own, untainted, thunder. The skies above the chamber exploded with magic energy and the ground trembled. 

Nagi had to cover his face when the shockwave of heat reached him and when he lowered his arms after only a second Negi was right in his face, smashing his fist into the Thousand Master's chest. Nagi managed to catch the punch and he gritted his teeth as he intercepted Negi's attack, powerful enough to destroy an Armageddon hovercraft in one hit. 

Nagi held his ground though, eventually pushing Negi backwards again. Unleashing another swarm of arrows he charged, chanting rapidly before leaping downwards and ending up in the air below the ceiling but above Negi's head due to the latter's position upside down. There he finished the spell, a blast of magic hitting Negi with an explosion that made part of the ceiling collapse. 

The debris came crashing down from the ceiling, impacting all over the battlefield, and with it came both Negi and Nagi. Each of them landed on one of the larger boulders which had fallen from the sky and at the very second that they landed they unleashed another cascade of magic against each other. The air exploded again and they both charged each other, their movements nearly mirroring each other. 

As they both collided they sent a fist each at the other, capturing it with their free hands and an impasse was created, neither of them willing to yield the grip on the other. Their eyes drilled into each other, two iron wills meeting. 

"You know something, Thousand Master?" Negi asked as she both fought for dominance in this battle of raw strength, his face just as impassive as ever. 

"No, but I'm damn sure you're gonna tell me!" Nagi replied, his face twisted in a grimace of exertion and grim anger, "Your kind always babbles so come on! You can't rattle me now: Thanatos!" he spat out the last word, his voice having the same tone as Thanatos had had in his dream.

Negi smirked, the look of smugness on his face unnatural. "That's how you should have been in the beginning," he said softly, "But as always, when it matters the most you are too late. That is your curse, Thousand Master, and for that, the world ends." Nagi blazed with energy as he pushed the Thousand Master backwards, throwing him into the air.

* * *

Then: the sphere of magic suddenly blazed like the sun and a rumble shook the ground under their feet. All around the chamber the fighting came to a halt as the tremors, growing worse by the second, sent people sprawling to the ground. Negi smiled when he felt the tremors however. He looked down at the people in front of him and opened his mouth. 

"And thus the age of mankind comes to an end." He said as the very air behind him was ripped apart. A wave of terror flooded the chamber, pure undiluted fear made all the present people step back as something started to move inside, inside the hole in creation something stirred. 

Two terrible hands, clawed and huge, pushed their way through the hole and grabbed the side of it, violently tearing it even wider open. The sound was terrible as the being pushed its way into the mortal world, like a sickening parody of a child's exodus from its mother's womb. With a deafening roar, Malfeas, the tainted demon god, pushed his way into the world. 

Two giant feet landed on the ground with a slam and Malfeas roared; a thundering sound that made the ground tremble, as he rose to his full height. He was titanic, both his size and presence was unnatural and the people in the chamber could only stop and stare at him. The demon god started to laugh, sending tremors of terror down into their souls.

"At last…" Malfeas, the demon god, said with a voice that cut into the soul. "Free…" the demon god said, "After all this time, for the first time ever…. Free!" The last word was screamed as Malfeas gave voice to his exhilaration of being free from the bonds placed on him. The pure might in his howl made the ground shake.

* * *

Takamichi felt like his heart would stop. It was impossible. The being in front of them was too powerful, too horrifying, for it to be possible. Something like that couldn't exist!

* * *

For the first time ever Albiero felt fear, even terror. They had failed; it was over. The most evil of the demon kings had been given freedom. The world was doomed.

* * *

Setsuna couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. The girl whimpered in fear as mind-numbing terror tore away everything intelligent in her and made her a terrified animal.

* * *

Fear paralyzed all of them, holding them down and stopping them from doing anything else than tremble and the demon started sparkling with energy as he prepared to unleashing a blast of energy that would wipe out all of Mahora. 

Then, out of nowhere, a swarm of titanic black spikes shot out from the ground and into the demon god's body, disrupting the spell and making him scream in pain. The aura of fear around him disappeared and the paralyzed defenders of the world got their ability to act back. 

"Savor it!" Suddenly Negi's voice echoed through the chamber, unlike his previous toneless voice this was a wild scream, "It's the last things you'll ever have!" 

On the dark mage's forehead something had suddenly appeared. It was a rune, identical in shape to the black marks on his servants' foreheads but bright red instead of black. Said mark was now feverishly pulsing, making his eyes glow with a desperate light. 

"Kill him!" He roared, the calm and cold personae gone, "Throw him back to the abyss!" The twisted figures that once had been independent beings but now were little but extensions of his will charged the titan without both hesitation and fear. The monster that once had been Kotaro went in first, smashing his clawed fist into the already open wound of the demon-god. 

"What is Kami-sama's name is going on?" Eishun yelled as the deafening roar of battle flooded the chamber as the bondsmen attacked the demon god. 

"I don't know," Albiero yelled, "But they are attacking him! We have to aid them! It's our only chance!"

"T-then do it!" Nagi yelled as he raised his staff and begun to chant, "Get him!" seeing the opportunity and taking it the others charged too, desperately grasping after what seemed like their only chance to save the world.

* * *

Standing further away Negi summoned the staff that was his artifact; a straight black staff covered in thorns appeared instead of the usual smooth one. It was yet another testament to his corruption which he now raised and started to chant.

"Rhactul Mactor Machites," he incanted rapidly. "Let the four seals on the gate of creation's ending shatter. Open the unholy gates and let the four heralds of armageddon enter this world." The battle raged desperately as he completed the first verse, Rage was thrown away into the wall with enough force to shatter every bone in him but he didn't even seem to notice in at he roared and charged again. 

"Count of the eternal carnage, hear my prayer and rise from the fields of destruction and blood, come and let thy merciless rage shatter everything." Just as he finished the second verse Madness tore up a series of spikes from the ground which became a barrier against the vitriolic flames Malfeas breathed out against them, saving the lives of the dazed Chao and Motoko, who had gotten her belly cut open.

"Lord of the virulent plagues, hear my plea and descend from the plagued clouds and stand by me, come and let thy vile diseases lay waste to all." As the third verse was done Asuna blazed with kanka as she swung her sword in a wide arc and into Malfeas' skin, a roar of pain escaping the demon god. 

"Duchess of numbing hunger, I beseech you, ascend from the deep pits of suffering and come to my aid, let all be drained by thy withering touch." The fourth verse was done as Katsu only just escaped a blast of energy that carved into the ground, burrowing a hole through the earth. 

"King of final unlife, I beg you to step down from your throne of bone and marrow and ride to my side, come and herald the ending of all life." Malfeas' roared with anger when he completed the fifth verse and the air suddenly sparkled around him as a pulse of powerful energies sent them all flying backwards. But just as he had seemed to get free the ground under him exploded as the devourer worms rose from the ground and ensnared him. 

"I invoke the sign of the world's ending and claim the allegiance of the four that ride at the forefront of it. Hear my command and unleash thy full power against the one who would stand in oblivion's way!" It was only first now that Malfeas, having incinerated the worms with a blast of fire, saw him, the demon god's eyes widened. 

"Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" Negi roared and the air around him scintillated as a titanic gate, one forge in bloody steel, appeared behind him and opened. Out of this portal, which seemed to lead into the void itself, a huge being, shaped like a monstrous beast, half predatory and half demonic, forged out of steel and blood with claws that could rend the very earth, charged Malfeas, howling with bloodthirst.

"War!"

Not even the demon god could avoid the beast as it raised its claws and, with one single slash, tore the demon god's skin, flesh and muscle, to shreds. Malfeas howled in pain. A second beast, this one a bloated, maggot-like being, created out of vile toxic fumes, charged out of the gates. It slithered across the ground, faster than anyone could comprehend. 

"Pestilence!"

Ensnaring Malfeas by wrapping itself around him the maggot suddenly burst, the fumes loosing their coherency before it all sunk into Malfeas' wounded body. When he could be seen again the demon god was reeling under the onslaught of a thousand vile diseases, carbuncles and sores covering the torn flesh. 

"Famine!"

Yet again a monster came out of the gates. This time it was a humanoid being, seemingly female but so thin and emaciated that it could not possibly be a human. The skeletal woman shrieked as she charged Malfeas, catching his head between her thin hands and putting her lips against his, sucking out his energy and leaving him just as emaciated as her.

"Death!"

Now a part of the darkness within the gates themselves seemed to exit it, but it turned out to be the pitch black robes of a giant skeleton, one with eyes glowing with a pale light and with a large scythe in his hands. 

This being rose over Malfeas, who still couldn't' move, and slashed the scythe down on him. The scythe didn't touch his flesh; instead it tore out a pale, ephemeral shape, roughly similar to the demon-god, out of its body which death slammed a skeletal arm into, making it disperse in a flash. 

However the body of Malfeas' supposedly soulless and powerless suddenly blazed with energy and in another flash, a blinding one, the demon god immediately healed himself. One second torn apart, the other in full heath. 

Not even Negi's abyssal magic could permanently wound the demon god, those present in the chamber now realized how vast the gap was between them and this being, a being as ancient as time itself and an avatar of pure evil. 

Malfeas full fury now turned on his traitorous subordinate and Negi, who had been totally drained by the spell, didn't have the strength to avoid the demon god's hand. Malfeas scooped up Negi and clenched his hand around him, the hand sizzling with energy as the demon god squeezed the life out of his servant. 

The others, both the Crimson Wing and Negi's Bondsmen, could only look as liquid spurted out between the clawed fingers of the demon god as it tortured Negi to death. 

"Traitor!" Malfeas roared, "How dare you betray me? I'll shatter your soul and spread the shards across the universe!" Suddenly he stopped, falling silent; in the sudden silence a chuckle could be heard. In Malfeas' grip Negi was laughing, the dark mage looked up at his former master and through the pain he smiled.

"I win, you lose…" he chuckled through the blinding pain. His head turned to the side and Malfeas followed his eyes. Looking to the side the demon god's eyes suddenly widened. In the summoning circle, the hole into the Aether still blazed. The dark magic that had surrounded it now formed a bridge between the hole and the being that had once been Malfeas' chain to the supernatural plane he had been confined to. A lone figure was standing there, rapidly chanting. 

Chaos, or Konoka as her human name had been, was currently completing the last sentence of the spell she had been working on. And to Malfeas' horror it wasn't any type of tainted magic.

"Let everything living be graced with the touch of rejuvenation and rebirth!" She shouted, Malfeas roared and threw Negi away before he charged the circle, desperate to reach it before it was too late, but not even the demon god was fast enough, "Breath of Elysium!" Chaos screamed. 

With those words the spell was completed and a burst of white light drenched the chamber, magic on an immense scale, healing such, flooded the chamber, rejuvenating it and restoring it to how it was supposed to be, a lush, verdant paradise. 

Malfeas screamed as the magic shot out into the Aether too, running along the trail left by the last spell, now reaching its target in an instant. The alien and incomprehensible being that had been shattered by Negi's spell was healed and restored to existence. It found that its charge, the demon god Malfeas, had violated the laws it had sworn to enforce upon him. There was no doubt to it about what had to be done. 

Malfeas the demon god disappeared, not in a blinding flash of energy or a fiery explosion, he didn't howl as he was annihilated by the one being that could harm him, nor did he curse the traitor that had outsmarted him. He simply ceased to be, one second he was there, the other he wasn't. The most ambitious and power-hungry of beings was met with the most anticlimactic of endings.

* * *

Asuna stumbled as she got to her feet, staring at the empty space that only seconds ago had been occupied by Malfeas. Her thoughts were still in chaos, unable to comprehend what just had happened. 

In front of their eyes, Negi, who they had thought were lost, had turned on Malfeas, even managing to kill him. But how? Now, more than ever, Asuna just didn't understand what was going on. It was for that reason that she begun to run in the direction Malfeas has thrown Negi. 

"Negi!" She yelled, begging that what she suddenly had started to hope would have happened. That he somehow had freed himself, that he had become free! "Negi!" Behind her she could hear Nagi yell something but she didn't listen, she had to reach him. 

Dashing across the once barren chamber, which now was filled, teeming, with life, she saw something by one of the walls and ran towards it. 

The solid rock wall and been cracked and split asunder as a giant crater had formed where Negi had hit it, Now he was lying limply on the ground, his black clothes torn and black blood pouring out from him. 

Why wasn't he healing? She had seen him recover from anything like nothing, why wasn't his wounds healing now? 

A sudden groan rose from his lips and he started to move, rising to his knees, stumbling as he did. Asuna started to run again but was brought to a halt as a black spike shot out in front of her, almost impaling her. 

"Stay away from me!" A hoarse voice croaked as Negi looked up at her, his face torn and ragged and a red rune blazing on his forehead. However it was his eyes she saw the most clearly, they were no longer empty and soulless, but filled with a torment beyond understanding. 

He raised a hand to his forehead and clutched it as a spasm of pain shot through him. "The rune is breaking!" he croaked, "I… created a rune that could get my head clear when I needed to…gah!" He spasmed again, Asuna ran forwards to him, the events of the last days forgotten as she saw him writhe in pain. 

"It's breaking!" He gurgled as she kneeled by him; trying to touch him but having her hands slapped away, "Your sword!" He continued, "It… banishes things to… where they belong!" He fell down to the ground again and clutched his head, "I belong nowhere! It'll…. Aaah! Destroy me!" He hissed, Asuna's eyes widened at this, "Do it!" Negi screamed, "Do it or I'll revert!" Asuna only shook her head…

"No… no, please…" She whimpered, "Negi no!" She grabbed him as another spasm shot through him and tried to calm him, "Please don't give in Negi!" Asuna couldn't stop herself as everything poured out of her. 

"Please! Please I don't want to be without you Negi… don't go away!" She held him as the spasms worsened; trying to comfort him, now knowing what to do other than that she couldn't do what he wanted her to do. Her eyes were filled with tears and she shook as she held him 

Suddenly Negi's hand shot out and slapped her in the face, Asuna was thrown backwards and Negi managed to, despite the spasms, get to his feet.

"Damn it Asuna!" He hissed, "It's too late!" His eyes were staring to mist up; blood started to run down his cheeks instead of tears as another spasm came that made him scream. Negi's scream echoed through the chamber, and he fell down again. 

Asuna had to cover her ears as the scream threatened to deafen her. When the screaming had stopped she looked at him again and saw how he suddenly was still, still like death. Only his lips moved, forming two words. 

"Help me. "His eyes were starting to dull and become emotionless again, his body loosing its stiffness, the rune was fading. He was reverting. 

Asuna screamed. She screamed with all her pain and sorrow as she summoned the blade, swinging it through the air in a wide arc, the blade heavier than ever, before she plunged it down into Negi, burrowing the giant blade into the hilt. 

Negi's eyes widened and he went stiff again as the blade cut into him, nailing him to the ground. A cough sent a spray of blood from his mouth and he gurgled. Then he went totally limp, his hands, which had been clutching at the sword, fell down to the ground. 

Asuna fell down on her knees, her hands still feverishly locked around the handle, as she clenched her eyes shut.

"Negi…" She opened her eyes and looked at him. In front of Asuna's eyes Negi fell apart, the unholy energies that had sustained him vanished as the area where the sword had pierced him begun to bubble. 

Then something happened to him, the unnatural being he had become was suddenly rejected from the world. A tidal wave of pure energy exploded out from him as the unstable energies that were him finally collapsed.

The tidal wave rolled outwards, through the chamber, and everything was drenched in a brilliant light as Negi was annihilated, the universe finally managing to reject him. The light blinded Asuna and she stumbled away, falling down on her back and trying to save her eyes from being destroyed. 

The light only shone brighter and brighter, destroying any coherency in her thoughts and she once again fell into darkness.

* * *


	42. Epilogue

**Chapter 41: Epilogue**

A/N: I bet you'll hate me for this...

* * *

The world is a place of suffering. Even if, at some short moments it can become enjoyable it will in the end be an all too fleeting experience, all too soon drowned in the gray wastes of actual life. Hopelessness and despair at humanity's constant bedfellows and every day is nothing but a dark abyss, one you can only endure. At least, that's how it felt for the young boy, a boy around fifteen with sandy-brown hair and gray eyes, who was currently suffering through the worst torture imaginable to him, history class.

"I must have been Hitler in an earlier life…" the boy, Brian Harrison, muttered to himself and looked away from the teacher as he glanced at his friend, a pudgy boy with red hair and green eyes who sat next to him, names John Michaels. This boy however had his eyes firmly fixed on the teacher, or rather, their teacher's generous body. Despite being almost forty years old she carried her age well and was still widely considered the most beautiful woman in the school. Brian snorted at the sight, causing his friend, who almost had started to drool again, to glance at him.

The sandy haired boy noticed this and carefully picked up a small bag of sand from his pocket, discretely waving it a little he caught his friend nodding as he took out a similar bag. They both carefully poured a little of it out on their benches and pocketed the bags.

"Dancing sirocco of the desert storms," Brian muttered as silently as he could with his gesturing hands hidden under the table, "On my command, form the desert sands after my bidding and bring forth my message across the world. Scriptures of sand." He completed the spell and carefully let the energies flow forth.

Their teacher suddenly looked up from the book she was reading from and looked around the room, her brow furrowing for a second and making both the boys hold their breaths. However she eventually shrugged and turned back to the lecture and the boys could breathe again. Brian turned back to the sand on his desk and focused on it. On his friend's desk the sand begun to move.

_"Don't you too feel like you want to stab yourself with the pen so you can go home?" _the letters in the sand said and John nearly snorted with laughter before he focused too.

_"Nope,"_ he answered his friend_ "with hot stuff like her dancing around in front of the blackboard I'm more concerned with passing out with a bleeding nose." _

_"Pervert." _the sandy-haired boy shook his head.

_"So are you."_ the pudgy boy pointed out.

"_No I'm not."_

_"Then I suppose that you're not interested in coming over to my place this weekend to start going through the full five seasons of Nekogami Love Love?"_ Now Brian tensed, how the hell did he get hold of all five seasons?! _"Come to the hentai side," _the sand reshaped itself again, _"We've got tentacles."_

_"Okay I yield,"_ she sandy-haired boy gave up, you had to stick to what you believed in but some things weighed heavier than your morale and principles, sixty hours of catgirls and heavy fanservice was one of these things, _"You win." _He told his pudgy friend and looked to the side to give him a smile. It was due to this that he didn't see the eraser that flew through the air before it was too late.

The projectile collided with his head at full speed and knocked him backwards, off the chair and down on the floor. A yelp of pain escaped him as his head smacked into the floor.

"Am I interrupting something mister Harrison?!" The young boy froze in a second when he heard teacher's voice cut through the air like a knife. At the front of the classroom their teacher, Anya Cocorova, also known as the "Russian Firestorm" and "Burning Ice Queen", was currently standing with anger rolling off her in waves. There were a few rules that everyone in her class knew to obey, these were amongst others:

1: Always pay attention, those not doing that will be punished.

2: Remember rule number one, Professor Cocorova doesn't do the 'forgiveness' thing.

3: Never EVER start passing notes to each other; if you do, it is best cured with writing lines.

4: Substituting the notes with a spell is not an incentive for extra points due to clever usage of magic, it's a proof that you got too little to do and is best cured with writing even more lines.

_"Ho-ly SHIT!" _the young boy thought when he realized how screwed he was. He slowly sat up and gave professor Cocorova, in a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, his best grin. "Ehehehe…" he began, "Sorry Professor, I just got so caught up in my notes." He lied while desperately thinking. _"Plausible lies pulled outta the butt, hop to it and get me outta this trouble like NOW please. Fooling the Teacher spell!" _

Judging from professor Cocorova's steely expression, the spell fizzled. Glancing to the side he noticed that John had already gotten rid of his sand and was now sitting with his eyes fixed on the blackboard like the little worm he was. Brian swore that he'd get vengeance if he survived this before professor Cocorova's voice cut through the air again.

"You're not fooling me mister Harrison." She said and in just one second Brian felt like he wanted to crawl in under his desk and hide there. Perhaps he could get away by jumping out of the windows? "Now," professor Cocorova continued, "Perhaps you would do us all the favor of coming up here and kindly inform the rest of the class what you and mister Michaels were so engrossed with?" the question was asked with a mild and curious tone but Brian knew enough about his teacher to realize how incredibly screwed he was.

_"Screw this,"_ he thought to himself_, "If I'm gonna die I'm gonna go out with a bang!"_

"Sorry professor!" he said loudly, drawing every eye in the room to himself, "But I mean, this stuff is utterly useless!" the instant chill that settled over the room told him that his death sentence already had been proclaimed. John especially had a look of pure horror on his face. "What use could we possible have for knowing what some old beardmeister thought about magic bonds two thousand years ago?" Brian continued, "You might as well teach us knitting, at least we'll use that once in a while. Has this stuff been used even once for something practica…" professor Cocorova's glare made him falter as the Russian woman glared at him.

The young man fell silent as he sat down, awaiting his death. As he sat down he felt an odd sense of calm settle over him and he idly wondered if this was how you felt when death was approaching. He took a deep breath and looked up at professor Cocorova again, fully expecting a giant fireball to devour him. However when he looked up he begun to stare. The professor had, out of nowhere, gotten a look no one had ever seen her have before, on her face, amusement… the "Burning Ice Queen" was smiling!

"It has, mister Harrison." she said, suddenly the male half of the class was reminded of how beautiful their teacher actually was as she looked up at them with a smile on her lips. "Only twenty years ago the works of Merlin nearly caused the end of the world." Now professor Cocorova had, in only a few seconds, gotten the class' undivided attention. "Anyone care to guess what I'm talking about?" She asked and one of the teenagers raised her hand.

"Do you mean Mahora, professor?" the girl said, referring to the cataclysmic battle in Japan twenty years ago where one of the greatest dark mages of all time had nearly managed to destroy the world. Said incident was legendary due to the fact that said dark mage, none other than Negi Springfield, son of the Thousand Master Nagi Springfield, apparently had rebelled against the taint that had possessed him and even managed to kill the demon god that had enslaved him, thereby landing him in the history books forever.

"I do indeed." professor Cocorova told them, "The writings of Merlin were integral to the method Negi used to kill Malfeas."

"Professor…" another student asked, "How do you know that?" That kind of knowledge was hardly the kind that people would be told just like that. Professor Cocorova looked out through the window for a few seconds before she turned to her students.

"Because Negi was my closest childhood friend." She admitted bluntly, causing the entire class to gasp, "Furthermore, a few months before he left for Mahora I was the one who helped him with his research." The woman said it all calmly and frankly, dropping one of the greatest bombshells ever. "Even if I know only bits and pieces I dare say that I know more than almost anyone about the ritual that was cast there."

Now the class was in a state of complete shock: their teacher, Anya Cocorova, the Russian Firestorm, widely considered the last person on earth that would have anything to do with anything exciting, had been a childhood friend of one of the most awesome mages ever! She had even done research with him! Brian was currently hyperventilating, trying to wrap his mind around this fact and failing miserably. He grabbed his head as he saw a miniature version of his teacher bossing around a tiny kid in black robes.

It was now that one of the students raised her hand. Professor Cocorova looked to the side and nodded towards the young girl, the blonde class rep in fact, who rose from her seat.

"If it is not too much to ask for professor," the girl said, "Would you mind telling us a little more about this? When it comes to that which happened at Mahora most of us have only a vague picture of what kind of person Negi Springfield in reality was. We all know the numbers and what happened, but I don't think anyone of us know what kind of man Negi Springfield really was. Perhaps you could tell us the real facts?"

The glass rep was, even if she had a great rack and a cute face, usually near the top on Brian's shit-list. A nosy and stuck-up bitch that would rather die than miss a chance to wave her authority around, Brian could nevertheless have kissed her for those words. Professor Cocorova stood silent for a moment and in the end she nodded.

"Okay then," she said and the class almost cheered, "But make sure to take notes, this will be on the test!" the old woman snapped and the class piped down immediately, "Now… how do you think he was as a child?" she asked, making the class stop up and think. Eventually John raised his hand.

"A weirdo?" he said carefully, "A guy who never really fit in, like, sat in the corner and glared at everyone and everything?" It was just a wild guess, how were they supposed to know that? Still, that sounded like the most plausible guess to him. professor Cocorova shook her head however.

"Wrong," she said, "He was a crybaby in fact." The entire class looked at her with skeptical looks on their faces. "It's true," professor Cocorova continued, "He was the most timid and overly polite little kid I knew, it wasn't a matter of him being repressed either, he just was like that." professor Cocorova fell silent for a while. "Due to the fact that his mother died in childbirth and that his father didn't even knew about his existence Negi lived with his Uncle and his cousin Nekane, the latter became the only mother-figure he ever had."

"Even if he, from an early age, showed that he was extremely intelligent and eager to learn he wasn't material for a dark mage at all, he was always a humble and kind person; power hunger was a foreign concept for him. If things would have continued like they were then… then he most probably would have remained in the village, perhaps gone on to become a teacher like me."

"But then he left home, right?" John asked, he was a Negi-fan of the highest degree and knew almost everything about him.

"Indeed," professor Cocorova said, "Due to prophetic visions of the village's destruction he fled when he was only ten years old. The following seven years are shrouded in mystery though. It's known that he traveled the world, many times under assumed identities, and that he visited nearly every corner of it, but little more. It's when he returned home again, after these seven years, that his journeys became documented again."

"Wow…" one of the girls said, "So he was, like, a seer too?" she asked, "I mean since he saw into time?"

"He can't have been an especially good one?" Another girl said, "I mean the village never got destroyed, right?"

"It's called "The Phytic Dilemma"" professor Cocorova said, "Did he stop it by leaving or was it a false vision? There's no way to know since the only one that really knows if he even really had visions were him."

"Was he still a crybaby when he came home?" one of the young boys said and the question made professor Cocorova stop for a second and think. After a while she looked up at the class.

"He had become like his father." She said, "And then I'm not talking about being afraid of responsibilities or a glory hound." She ignored many of the shocked expressions that covered her students' faces when she badmouthed the great Thousand Master and continued. "It was his strength, both magically and personality-wise. Whenever I saw him devote himself to something he became like a tidal wave. He was a juggernaut whenever he became serious. When he hovered over the books in the library the very air almost crackled with intensity around him, it's a sight I've never seen after him," professor Cocorova looked at the class, "and I probably won't get to see it again." She added dryly.

"Anyway," She continued, "When his research was finished he left for Mahora, the location of the only clue he had to his father's whereabouts. Who knows what I'm talking about?" several hands shot up into the air immediately, Brian's amongst them. Professor Cocorova pointed at him with a wry smile, "I do believe this is the first time you have raised your hand in my class, mister Harrison." Brian chose not to say anything about that, she was right anyway.

"It's Asuna the Great, the dusk princess" he said, "I think that she traveled with Nagi Springfield after he rescued her during the great war, when they destroyed her kingdom."

"Yes," Anya said, "Princess Asuna had, due to her lineage as a member of the royal family of dusk, a very powerful affinity for magic. This affinity existed in every member of the royal family, manifesting in different ways. In Asuna it manifested as a natural skill in demon summoning. However when the Megalomesembric armies made the push against the Twilight Castle during the war they deployed a new type of weapons against the magically superior dusk army. Wild magic generators."

"Aren't those forbidden?" a student asked with a start and Anya nodded.

"They are due to what happened there." She said with a grim look on her face, "They made the royal family's gifts go haywire, princess Asuna's power especially. Without any way of controlling her gift it tore open a gate into the ninth hell itself, summoning a titanic host of demons. They tore the entire city AND the attacking army apart, leaving only Asuna alive. The demon god Malfeas then approached her as she came back ton consciousness, surrounded by her butchered family. He told her that he could take away that gift and keep her safe. Asuna, who believed what just had happened was her own fault, was an easy prey for the manipulative demon and the deal was forged. In exchange for her gift and, ten years later, her soul, Malfeas would make her immune to all kinds of magic. Asuna was too broken to do anything but accept."

Now the class had a sinking feeling in their guts. Brian especially felt like crap. He saw in front of himself a little girl standing amongst the bloodstained ruins of her home, realizing that it was her fault.

"It becomes worse," Anya continued, "She was later found by the Megalomesembric army who immediately realized the power in the magic nullifying abilities she possessed. Within only a few weeks they had developed the Spellshatterer."

"Fucking fiends." Brian muttered, that was something he knew of, most people did, and no matter how you looked at it that had to be the lowest thing he'd ever heard of.

"You have to look at it from a bigger perspective," Coban, the Megalomesembric exchange student said, "They were desperate, the armies of Vampire King was almost at the capital's doorstep. If they hadn't done that we might all have worn slave collars now." The boy was a patriot of the highest order and always tried to downplay the atrocities that the Megalomesembric armies committed during the war while exaggerating the deeds of the other sides.

"If you're that fucking low that you do things like that to little kids you don't deserve to win wars!" Brian snapped, "They sucked her soul dry; don't try to justify that shit! Your beloved country won the asshole of the century award with that one!"

"While I'm sure that the princess would appreciate your support I'd prefer that you didn't use that language in class." Professor Cocorova said mildly and Brian immediately sat down. "Anyhow, back to Negi, what happened when he left for Mahora you all already know; instead; if you have any other questions let me hear them." Professor Cocorova said, wondering if she opened Pandora's Box now. Several arms shot up immediately and she let one of the girls ask first.

"Did he have any girlfriends or something?" She asked and professor Cocorova hesitated for a second, remembering the cool spring air, the dark evening and Negi as he reached in to give her a small kiss, the kiss that had been her first. The kiss had made her entire body tingle and had, in one second, made her realize that she had still loved him. As she had walked inside she had only made it inside the door before she had collapsed, sobbing frantically as she realized how futile it all was.

"Any other questions?" She eventually said with an embarrassed look on her face. Brian wasn't stupid, even if his grades sucked, and one thing he knew was how to spot clues to moods and what he just had seen almost made him faint. It couldn't be…. The prof had NOT just blushed., nope, njet and iie, that was impossible! Judging from the looks on the rest of the class' faces, however, it looked like it really had happened.

"Was he gay or something?" John suddenly blurted out and Brian winced, not THAT was an "open mouth, insert foot", moment. However most of the male half of the class nodded, as if trying to make that true. That overpowered freaking superhero had NOT been an item with their teacher!

"Let's not go into that now," the professor said tersely, "I CAN however, tell you that it's hardly appropriate to comment on the sexual preferences' of the dead."

"Then what was his gf like?" John asked.

"He never had any serious relationships," professor Cocorova said, trying to keep her professionalism up, "The closest thing would be his temporary pactio with Kagurazaka Asuna."

"I've heard that he liked brunettes," John said, quietly with a probing voice that was loud enough that the class heard it and transferring the spotlight back to the professor, moving into that area of questioning she did not want to approach

"Be that as it may, I have no real knowledge of these things." Professor Cocorova said with a tone of finality, "Now let's go back to the subject and not what seems to be picked out of "Witch Monthly". Tell me this. What similarities are there between Merlin and Negi Springfield? And motivate your answers." Brian slumped together. Shit, she hadn't stayed off the Merlin thing. However several students did raise their hands.

"They were both the greatest mages of their times?" John said, "I mean Merlin and Negi both mastered dragon magic, that's not exactly usual."

"Maybe," the professor said, "However that is still open to discussion; many would disagree, saying that mastering dragon magic isn't a valid way of measuring power. Anyone else?"

"They were both enslaved." The class rep said, "Merlin by the water spirit Nimue and Negi by the taint. Both of them were hounded and tormented by something external that irrevocably scarred their souls. In many ways that was what came to separate them from the rest of their peers." God _damn _it was easy to hear that the class rep's family was professors, all of them

"Good analogy," the teacher said, "And that is true, just like Merlin, Negi never stopped at any one place for long during their travels and the short time where they did stay at one place, Camelot for Merlin, Mahora for Negi, saw events that guaranteed their place in history."

"Tragic endings?" Another student said, "I mean, Negi died and Merlin is supposed to have been imprisoned forever."

"Only difference would be that Thanatos deserved it." Coban said, immediately earning several sour looks from the other, Welsh, students, "Excuse me professor but I don't see why you insist on this hero-worship of the guy who nearly exterminated humanity. It's like… just because Adolf Hitler took his own life that doesn't make him a good guy. How many thousands died at Mahora, how much destruction and death did that guy cause? One second of regret at the end isn't going to undo all the things he did."

"Like slaying Malfeas?" Brian asked sourly, he hated that guy, "Like eradicating the taint from the world for all future by killing its source? Like saving the dusk princess' soul and thereby giving all those guys who lost their homeland thanks to your imperialist greed a hope that their homeland can be rebuilt?!"

"More like accepting the taint!" Coban returned, "Aren't you forgetting that itty-bitty fact? It all comes back to the fact that he sold his soul for power!"

"And that is where you are wrong mister Erathor," Anya said calmly, "I'd recommend that you read "Either was not the only choice" by Fate Averruncus. He addresses just that matter and makes several arguments for how Negi couldn't' have sold his soul."

"I know about that one but I can't see how anyone can expect that one of Thanatos' slaves could ever give an objective viewpoint?" Coban continued. "Seriously," the Megalomesembrian continued, "Isn't there anyone who realizes that he might be just a little impartial?! Isn't it a little too convenient that suddenly the guy who nearly ended the world is a hero since he was just a victim whereas everyone else in his seat was deliberate villains, just because he betrayed Malfeas just like how he betrayed humanity!? What kind of screwed up proof of virtue is that?"

"Newsflash!" Brian said loudly, "All of those people got a clear bill of both mental and physical health after Mahora. When Negi ejected them from his soul right before he died he kept their taint with him, ever heard about that one? And just so you know," he added with a conspiratory whisper, "It was Megalomesembric healers who checked that!" he shouted.

"That will be quite enough." The professor said with a tone that immediately shut both of them up. "Also," she turned to Coban, "If you are saying that mister Averruncus would be anything else than fully professional in his analyses you are demonstrating a sad level of ignorance. I've met the man in question on a few occasions and I can vouch for his credibility."

"Furthermore:" she continued, the fact that she had talked with Fate Averruncus even further impressing the students. "when dealing with Negi's deeds you both have to remember that the word "normal" can't really be applied to him, just like Merlin the Springfields, both the older and younger, remade the world around them. Some people refer to this at "true magic". By combining their powerful magic with indomitable willpower and great visions they changed the world forever. Of course, with results in hand we can always say that "this or that" was wrong but then things were not so easy."

"What do you think then professor?" the class rep said now, "Was he a hero or a villain?"

"I believe that he wanted to be remembered like this." the professor said, "I don't think he ever desired to be known as a hero, not after that things he had to do, but neither do I believe he was a villain. I think; if anything, he wanted to be remembered as a paradox, as a man who can't be judged just like that. He always did like riddles…" the professor said to herself.

It was than that the bell suddenly rung; signaling the end of class. The students got up to leave immediately, almost moving on instinct as the reflex that told them to leave school as fast as possible took over.

"Be sure to have read chapter eleven until Monday!" professor Cocorova said loudly, reminding them of their homework, and was met by a lot of groans from the students who had hoped that she would have forgotten about that. "And YOU, mister Harrison, "she continued, "has a four page essay on the spiritscape of Wales in Merlin's age to do until next Monday." the sandy-haired boy looked like he was about to puke now and his friend came up to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. However the groaning soon stopped as the kids left the classroom with extraordinary speed and the only one left was the teacher. The woman smiled to herself as she picked up her notes and walked off to the teachers' offices.

* * *

As she crossed the courtyard she suddenly felt a gust of wind and looked out over the great forest below, spring was approaching and the trees were starting of bloom, small, almost invisible, dots of green adorning the brown trees. The branches moved as the wind blew through them, making a rustle rise from them. She took of her glasses and closed her eyes as she felt the wind on her face. The forests where life was now awaking from it's slumber, the blue heaven which now was painted red in the dusk, the clear air… everything that was Wales to her, her home. It was that that she reached the statue where she stopped.

Several meters high, sculpted in shining obsidian and with a silver inscription on the pedestal, which she knew by heart, it depicted a young man, one clad in flowing robesk and with the hand that wasn't gripping his staff twisted by dark magic into a set of claws, the figure's face was locked in sorrowful but determined look. She looked down at the gleaming silver calligraphy inscription and read it to herself.

_"In memory of Negi Springfield,"_ the inscription said,_ "The man who fell deeper than anyone else and who, in the very last moment, climbed higher than anyone else." _

"Thank you Negi," Anya Cocorova said as she looked up at the statue's face, "For everything." Perhaps it was just a trick of the light but for some reason the light of the dusk made him seem at peace.

"Yes..." a soft voice then said beside her, "For everything." Anya looked to the side now and saw a man in white robes, with red eyes and a face almost as pale as his robes. She recognized him right away.

"Mister Averruncus?" she said with a surprised voice upon seeing who it was. The albino was an old friend of hers, even more than she had made it sound in class, but she did not expect him to come here. In truth, this was the first time she had seen him outside the Megalomesembric heartlands, which nowadays were the centre of the supernatural world.

"Good afternoon miss Cocorova." Fate answered with a slight nod as he turned towards her, "How has life been for you the latest months?"

"Things are well," Anya answered, "How about you? What has brought you to Wales?"

"As straightforwards as ever I see." Fate smiled slightly and Anya closed her eyes.

"Of course," she apologized, "That was quite rude of me, I'm sorry. Would you care for some tea perhaps?"

"Yes please," Fate said. "Tea would be nice."

"Come with me then," Anya said, "We can go to the cafeteria."

They both walked off towards one of the buildings, the one where the dining-room lay. Anya taking the lead and Fate following her. The latter still had his hood up, desiring to be anonymous. Anya showed him into the cafeteria, which lay in the dining-room of the school. It was housed in one of the corners of the large hall and was presently nearly empty, only a few people were there.

Anya and Fate both walked up the the register and ordered a cup of tea each, Anya idly noticed that Fate still took his tea with milk. With their tea in hand they sat down by one of the wooden tables, Fate noticing the dents and graffiti that covered it, and raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't mind me asking, miss Cocorova." he said, "Why do you insist on remaining at this school?" Anya looked up at him with a furrowed brow at this.

"How do you mean?" She asked him and Fate clarified.

"First: You are one of the world's foremost experts on scrying, especially when using sympathetic bonds in items possessed by those you scry for, and your works on it have become standard for almost all universities' courses in it. Second: you are also immensely proficient in elemental magic, your skill with fire magic rivals even miss Lingshen's. Third," now Fate leaned in and whispered, "Without your brilliant argumentation and the aid you gave me my book would never become so successful." he leaned backwards again, "You have the capacity to succeed in any field," he continued, "from battlemage in the Ariadne Valkyrie Knights to loremaster at the Megalomesembric Great Academy. When all these facts are lined up your decision to take a place as a teacher the the academy of Wales which, even though it has a long and glorious history, today is little more that any other academy, seems quite curious."

Anya listened silently to Fate as she took a sip of her tea. As usual, the albino was correct, Anya knew that she was widely considered an authority on several matters, scrying and fire magic being only two of these. But the reason why she had stayed in Wales instead of going to the big academies, where she would have become legendary, was because of what had happened twenty-one years ago. She lowered her cup and told Fate why she did it.

"I'm staying because when Negi came back after the seven years he had spent on the road all I could see was an exhausted young man." she told him. It was the truth, she had realized after a few days what it was about him that bothered her. "Something about him practically radiated exhaustion, even if it was overshadowed by his will."

"To everyone else he was a hero, everyone just saw the strength." she continued, "But I saw the other part of him... how he absently fingered his scars when he was deep in thought, how his entire body was covered in them, how he talked about horrible things like they were nothing... I was just a child back then and I wanted to travel like him, but thanks to what I saw I was cured of that idea. I saw that the adventuring life scars you. Then... as time went on I realized how much I love Wales... call me silly if you please but nowadays I cannot imagine living anywhere else. I feel like it would kill me."

"I don't find it silly at all," Fate said, "Some people just can't settle down, it stands to reason that some people needs to stay where they feel that they belong."

"It's quite strange though..." Anya said, "When we were kids everyone said that I would be the one to break up and move away and Negi the one who would stay. But the roles became totally reverse... he left, I stayed... now he's the great hero and I'm the one who lives quietly."

"There's something poetic about it, true" Fate agreed, "However I'm hardly the right person for putting together something fitting."

"Nor am I." Anya said, "...have we really become that old?" She suddenly asked with a raised eyebrow, "We're sitting and trying to compose poetry about our lives."

"A disgrace." Fate said, his lips curving in a rare little smile now, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." They both shared a small laugh at this before Fate sobered up quickly. "However, as much as I find these discussions amusing I must address the real reason for my visit." he reached into his cloak and pulled out something wrapped in white cloth.

"Miss Cocorova," he started, his face dead serious, "I am here because I need your help, your sympathetic scrying abilities specifically. Know, however, that if you offer to help me I cannot give you any guarantees about what will happen next. This," he held up the item wrapped in cloth, "is the key that will open a door you never can close again. Seeing as how you value your peace it is only fair that you are warned about this before you decided whether to help me."

Anya looked at the cloth-wrapped item, examining it intently. It was about one foot long, seemingly cylindrical in shape and only as broad that he could reach his fingers around it. After a few seconds she turned back to Fate.

"Tell me something..." she said softly, "You're here because there's something more than just my skill that matters, is it not? I get the feeling there's something personal at stake." Fate only nodded at this and eventually Anya nodded too. "I thought so," she said, "Very well, I'll take it." No matter how much she had changed otherwise her curiosity still remained. Also, Fate's confirmation that there was something personal at stake suggested that she had to do it. The albino handed over the item and Anya looked around before carefully unwrapping it.

Inside was a roughly foot long shard of something that vaguely reminded her of obsidian, but it had a much rougher texture and she could feel the intense undercurrents of magic through it. She looked up at Fate who clarified.

"That is what nowadays is referred to as blood-steel," he said, "The remnants of the results of the tainted magic Negi used at the end. By controlling, expanding, shaping and hardening his blood through tainted magic he created a unique material, one that nowadays is one of the rarest and most sought after materials in the world. After the death of Malfeas it lost the taint and all that remains is a material both immensely strong and capable of storing incredible abouts of magic."

"I see." Anya said, suddenly feeling strange. Was this a part of Negi's blood? The results of the tainted arts he had used just before he died? Suddenly her hands clenched around it and she had to fight to stay calm. "And what is it you want me to find out?" she asked quietly.

"This material is something only Negi could create," Fate said "No one but he, no one, had the skill, knowledge and power necessary. Also, after the taint disappeared for good it became doubly impossible to create more of it. No matter what dozens of alchemists have tried it's impossible, the secrets behind creating it died with him. However this shard isn't from the battle of Mahora twenty years ago..." Anya looked up at Fate at this, wide-eyed. What was he saying? The albino's face was grim, "It was found one week ago in the ruins of the Twilight Castle, buried in the body of a slain elder dragon. It was impaled on a dozen giant spikes made out of this very blood-steel.

* * *

_The end  
_


End file.
